Howard Lutnick, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary, is reportedly negotiating a $2 billion bitcoin lending initiative in partnership with Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin operator. According to Bloomberg News, Lutnick’s financial services firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, is seeking support from Tether to back the project, which has the potential to scale to tens of billions of dollars.
Tether confirmed its interest in exploring new opportunities using profits accumulated over recent years in an emailed statement to Reuters. Cantor Fitzgerald, however, has not commented on the matter outside business hours.
The relationship between Tether and Cantor Fitzgerald is already significant. Bloomberg reported that Cantor holds billions of dollars in U.S. Treasuries that underpin Tether’s stablecoin, generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue for Lutnick’s firm annually. Stablecoins like Tether are pegged to traditional currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, to maintain a constant value.
Trump announced earlier this week that he intends to nominate Lutnick to lead trade and tariff policies as head of the Commerce Department, with additional oversight of the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Lutnick’s nomination underscores his known advocacy for cryptocurrency adoption and innovation.
The Commerce Department, with nearly 47,000 employees, oversees critical U.S. functions including the Census Bureau, weather forecasting, ocean navigation, and investment promotion.
