Original author: 1912212.eth, Foresight News
Since Trump officially entered the White House, favorable policies have frequently appeared. Recently, Trump has nominated Jonathan Gould, former chief legal officer of Bitfury, to serve as the director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), responsible for supervising the national banking system. The nomination was submitted to the Senate on February 11, and the term of office is five years.
He also nominated a16z policy head Brian Quintenz as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The influence of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency cannot be underestimated. It is one of the most influential banking regulators in the United States. Banks supervised by the OCC control most of the assets of the U.S. banking industry, including major banks such as Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. Due to the core position of the U.S. banking system in the global financial market, the OCCs policies will affect international interbank transactions, the U.S. dollar clearing system, and global financial stability. In recent years, the OCC has allowed national banks to provide crypto custody services and explored the integration of stablecoins with the banking system, which has a far-reaching impact on the compliance development of the crypto industry.
Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, an advocacy group for the crypto industry, issued a statement saying that Gould is an excellent candidate for the position of Director of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and his experience in the crypto industry enables him to effectively lead the agency. Avichal Garg, co-founder of Electoric Capital, also said that Goulds nomination is a very positive development for fintech and cryptocurrency founders seeking better financial services.
So who is Gould to deserve such high praise?
Crypto, law, financial management, impressive resume
Gould graduated from Princeton University and subsequently obtained a doctorate in law. He served as senior deputy director and chief legal counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) during the first term of the Trump administration (late 2018 to mid-2021). According to information, during his tenure at the OCC, Jonathan led the legal and licensing team through a period of major change, pushing the agency to update its regulatory and licensing framework to adapt to the evolution of the banking industry. These reforms included major revisions to banking regulations involving the implementation of the Economic Growth Act. Under his leadership, the OCC approved licenses for fintech and cryptocurrency banks for the first time, confirming the legality of crypto-related businesses, etc.
In 2022, Gould served as the chief legal officer of Bitfury, which produces Bitcoin mining equipment and was valued at $1 billion several years ago. Gould is currently a partner at the law firm Jones Day.
He also served as a director at BlackRock from 2014 to 2018. BlackRock is one of the worlds largest asset management companies, with assets under management (AUM) currently exceeding US$10 trillion, and plays a pivotal role in the global financial market.
Gould is well versed in law and has worked for Bitcoin mining companies and asset management giant BlackRock. He has a good resume in crypto, finance and law. If he is officially appointed, crypto may usher in loose regulation. Gould recently opposed Chokepoint 2.0 (cutting off the connection between crypto and banks) and hopes to provide crypto companies with fair access to banking services.
CFTC nominees policy chief from venture capital firm a16z
Recently, Trump also nominated Brian Quintenz, the head of policy at a16z, as the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Since the former chairman of the CFTC left office, Caroline Pham, nominated by Trump, is currently serving as the acting chairman. Earlier this year, the Trump team interviewed several candidates, including CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger, former Kraken Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori, and others, but ultimately chose Brian Quintenz.
The main function of the CFTC is to regulate the U.S. derivatives market, especially futures, options and other derivatives transactions. The derivatives include futures and options contracts related to commodities, stocks, bonds, foreign exchange, etc. It is also one of the most important regulatory departments involved in the field of cryptocurrency.
Brian Quintenz graduated from Duke University. From 2001 to 2007, Quintenz worked in the office of U.S. Congresswoman Deborah Pryce as a senior policy advisor. In 2013, he founded Saeculum Capital Management, which focuses on risk management and technical analysis investment strategy investment.
In August 2017, Brian was nominated by Trump as a CFTC Commissioner and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in the same month to take office. During his tenure, he led the CFTCs Technical Advisory Committee and hosted public policy discussions and briefings on cryptocurrencies. He also supported the development of tailored risk-adjusted regulatory policies for emerging areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi).
In September 2021, Brian joined Andreessen Horowitz as Policy Director for the Crypto Division.
During his tenure at a16z, Brian recently wrote that when it comes to regulation, you can finally relax. For many people, due to concerns about excessive regulation, project parties have been delaying the use of tokens to distribute project control and build communities. Now there should be more confidence in projects using tokens as a legal and compliant tool.
It is worth mentioning that after being nominated as the next CFTC Chairman, Brian tweeted that the CFTC plays a key role in market price discovery. The agency is also ready to ensure that the United States leads the world in blockchain technology and innovation. I look forward to working with President Trump’s financial regulatory team.
In the past, the SEC and CFTC have participated in law enforcement actions in the regulation of the crypto industry. In addition, the two have also been in dispute over whether some tokens are securities. Recently, Forbes business reporter Eleanor Terrett revealed that as digital asset regulation has become a key task, the US SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are discussing strengthening cooperation in cryptocurrency regulation and considering restarting the SEC-CFTC Joint Advisory Committee, which has been suspended since 2014, to provide a discussion platform for the two agencies on emerging regulatory issues.
summary
At present, Trump is practicing his consistent friendly attitude towards the crypto industry before he entered the White House. Many senior government officials and regulatory officials are pro-crypto people. The shadow of the crypto industry being strictly regulated and suppressed in the past may disappear, and a group of American blockchain entrepreneurs may usher in an era of the most relaxed policies.
