Inca Digital has announced ex-CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz has joined the digital asset intelligence company’s Advisory Board.
The firm, which provides data, analytics and expertise to many of the world’s leading exchanges, financial institutions, regulators and government agencies, has also appointed ex-US Marine cryptologistAnita Nikolich as Lead Research Advisor.
The company will leverage the appointees’ know-how in cryptology and regulation to enhance its data analytics and services focused on the regulatory affairs and national security implications of digital assets.
Brian Quintenz is a former Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he helped establish the agency’s critical role as a federal regulator with jurisdiction over digital currencies, utility tokens, and other non-security commodities.
It was during his tenure that the CFTC oversaw the listing of the first U.S. regulated Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts on derivatives exchanges, and the rapid expansion of decentralized finance (DeFi).
He has become a leading voice against the SEC’s ongoing regulation-by-enforcement which remains ongoing despite increased criticism from the industry, lawmakers, and government officials, including a few of the SEC’s top names, such as Commissioner Hester Peirce.
As an advisor to Inca Digital, Quintenz will provide high-level counsel on the firm’s larger effort to provide world-class data analytics across crypto regulatory matters.
Adam Zarazinski, Chief Executive Officer at Inca Digital, said: “The timing couldn’t be better for Anita and Brian to join Inca. With crypto markets facing a tumultuous future in the short term, and some companies in the space either unable or unwilling to act responsibly, it is more important than ever to have market intelligence, compliance tools and robust risk management analytics. Anita and Brian will be invaluable additions guiding our national security and regulatory work, and we know our clients and the wider market will benefit from their expertise.”
Inca Digital boasts a team of military-trained engineers, analysts, and security experts that aim to bring clarity, safety, and stability to the asset class and enable clients to monitor digital asset markets, fight crime, and generate alpha.
The appointment of Anita Nikolich as Lead Research Advisor is also a milestone for the firm as she will help lead Inca’s new national security projects and set policy and strategy for the firm’s expanding national security practice.
Anita Nikolich is the Director of Research and Technology at the University of Illinois and serves on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure (ACI).
Past experience includes serving as program director for cybersecurity at NSF, executive director of infrastructure at the University of Chicago, and director of global data networking at risk mitigation specialist Aon.
Nikolich is a former United States Marine cryptologist and was one of the first female marines on the ground in Somalia during Operation Restore Hope (1992-1993), a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force in charge of creating a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of the country.
