Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, former United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner Brian Quintenz is reportedly US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for CFTC chair, Vancouver’s city council has passed a motion that would see it exploring Bitcoin as a solution to bolster the city’s financial stability, and MicroStrategy stock is expected to crack the Nasdaq 100 later this month.A16z’s Brian Quintenz top pick for CFTC chair under TrumpQuintenz has reportedly emerged as the top contender for the CFTC chair position under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.According to a Bloomberg report, people familiar with the matter said that Quintenz had been interviewed for the position.Currently the head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division, a16z, Quintenz’s background includes overseeing key policy initiatives at the CFTC between 2017 and 2021.The appointment of the former CFTC commissioner could shift the scales in a long-debated jurisdictional lack of clarity over cryptocurrencies between the CFTC and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.Quintenz previously served as a Republican-appointed commissioner at the CFTC, advocating for financial innovation within the digital asset industry, and he currently pushes for regulatory clarity as head of policy at a16z. During his tenure at the CFTC, he supported the integration of digital asset derivatives and event contracts into the federal agency’s regular framework, focusing on improving innovation while maintaining market integrity.Vancouver passes motion to become a “Bitcoin-friendly city”The Vancouver City Council has greenlit a motion to explore ways to integrate Bitcoin into its financial operations, including a possible Bitcoin reserve and payments option.Mayor Ken Sim introduced the motion to become a “Bitcoin-friendly city” before the Dec. 11 meeting, suggesting it could be a way to safeguard against inflation and currency devaluation.Six councilors supported the motion, two were in opposition, and three were absent from the vote altogether. Before the vote, Sim said he filed the motion in response to “challenges in the future” and as a way to secure “the next 100 years for the City of Vancouver.” “We have affordability challenges, and I truly believe that Bitcoin could be something that can solve our challenges, both financial and affordability,” Sim said.Sim said he was also spurred to bring the idea to the council after he did some investigating and found that houses in the city had increased 381% in value between 1995 and 2022, but gold “pretty remained much flat.” At the same time, he says the city’s fixed-income securities, worth $3.1 billion, had lost $185 million in market value. “There is something going on here; our currency is getting debased, and we are losing our purchasing power,” Sim said.MicroStrategy to become Nasdaq 100 stock — BloombergMicroStrategy is expected to crack the Nasdaq 100 stock index on Dec. 23, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas. The business intelligence firm, which has transformed into a de facto Bitcoin bank, has seen its market capitalization surge in recent years, placing it within striking distance of the coveted Nasdaq index listing.Once part of the Nasdaq 100, MSTR will be more easily accessible to institutional investors. As a Nasdaq 100 stock, MSTR will be included in the Invesco QQQ Trust, an ETF with roughly $322 billion in assets under management.According to Balchunas, the next step for MSTR is inclusion in the S&P 500 Index, which he expects to occur next year. Since adopting its Bitcoin strategy in 2020, MicroStrategy’s stock price has rallied by roughly 2,500%. The company’s strategy paid off in droves after Bitcoin’s price crossed $100,000 for the first time earlier this month. However, some analysts have expressed concerns about MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin buying spree, which is being fueled by cheap financing and excessive hype.