The former CFTC commissioner and Donald Trump’s initial choice to lead the agency will join the board of investment company SUI Group and help with the company’s treasury strategy.
The SUI Group’s board of directors now includes the person who was once chosen by US President Donald Trump to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The SUI Group said on Tuesday that Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC Commissioner, would join its board. This would help the company with its digital asset treasury strategy by improving its “regulatory and policy leadership.” As of the third quarter of 2025, the business said it owned 107,743,979 Sui SUI$1.86, which was worth roughly $200 million at the time of writing.
From regulator to crypto industry adviser
Quintenz was a commissioner for the CFTC under Trump from 2017 until 2021. After that, he was the worldwide head of policy for a16z crypto. He became a member of the board of directors for the prediction market platform Kalshi in 2021. From 2021 to 2022, he was an adviser to the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com.
The former commissioner getting closer to the crypto industry is the most recent case of a CFTC official leaving the government to work in the private sector. After Michael Selig was confirmed as chair of the CFTC by the US Senate in December 2021, Caroline Pham, who was acting chair of the agency under Trump, joined payments provider MoonPay.
A nomination marked by controversy
After Trump named Quintenz as his first choice in February, a lot of lawmakers and business leaders backed his nomination.
In September, nevertheless, Quintenz disclosed text messages between him and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. These messages suggested that the two were hoping for certain guarantees about how the CFTC would enforce the law. A few weeks later, Selig was chosen to lead the agency.
Selig is the sole CFTC member working at the agency as of January. Normally, there are five commissioners. Trump hasn’t said or hinted that he will name any possible nominees soon, which may leave the US banking regulator without a leader for months or even years.