New Potential Candidates For CFTC Chair Emerge, According to Report

• Bloomberg reports new candidates are being considered for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair
• Brian Quintenz, the presidential nominee to chair the CFTC, had his nomination vote delayed several times
• According to the report, the White House is considering two additional candidates for the position

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The path to a new chair for the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission has potentially become more crowded.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the White House is now considering additional candidates to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Brian Quintenz, the presidential nominee to chair the commission, seemed to be in line for the position but had his nomination vote delayed several times in the Senate.

President Donald Trump (R) nominated Quintenz for the position in February. Quintenz is a former CFTC commissioner who currently sits on the board of Kalshi.

Two Candidates With Crypto Experience

According to Bloomberg, two new candidates with crypto experience are being explored as potential nominations for the position.

One is Michael Selig, chief counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force. Selig previously was a partner in Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s asset management practice.

Another potential candidate is Tyler Williams, counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on digital asset policy. According to Bloomberg, Williams joined the treasury from Galaxy Digital, a digital assets investment company.

Delays for Quintenz’s nomination started in the summer. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry was scheduled to vote on his nomination in late July, but the vote was delayed and never rescheduled.

At the time of the delay, Lydia Beyoud, a reporter for Bloomberg, noted on X that Quintenz was still Trump’s pick to head the CFTC, but the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry did not give an official reason for delaying the vote.

She also helped report on the new potential nominees for the CFTC chair.

Mike Selig, SEC Crypto Task Force counsel & Tyler Williams, top Treasury crypto policy advisor, are among those under consideration. https://t.co/8cjuI2CZL1

— Lydia Beyoud (@ElleBeyoud) September 19, 2025

Nomination will Impact Sports Betting Markets

Whoever heads the CFTC will have an immediate impact on the way the prediction market, and especially sports event contracts, is regulated.

Quintenz made it fairly clear during an early June hearing the CFTC will continue to allow brokers to offer sports event contracts to customers, unless directed by Congress or the courts to prohibit the contracts.

The law, he said, is very clear regarding derivatives contracts such as sports event trading contracts. Quintenz noted it is the job of the CFTC to uphold and defend the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), which brokers argue preempts state attempts to regulate sports event contracts.

Typically, at full capacity the CFTC has five commissioners, but at the moment the commission is in a state of flux. Acting Chair Caroline Pham has noted she will step down when Quintenz, or the new chair, arrives. Commissioners Christy Goldsmith Romero and Summer Mersinger both left the CFTC in May, while Kristin Johnson will leave later this year.

Additionally, former full-time chair Rostin Behnam left the CFTC in February.

It is unclear how the new nominees would potentially regulate sports event contracts.

Brokerages offerings sports event contracts have long maintained that prediction markets can only be regulated by the CFTC and states have no say in their offerings. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Kalshi officials have noted their sports event contracts differentiate from traditional sports betting as they are not played “against the house,” but traded between users who purchase contracts on either side of an outcome.

State gaming regulators maintain the markets need to be beholden to regulations, taxes, and license fees that sports betting and gaming operators are required to follow.