Cantor Fitzgerald Now Holds $600 Million Stake in Tether
Howard Lutnick, CEO and majority owner of Cantor Fitzgerald, has been nominated as Commerce Secretary by President-elect Donald Trump. Lutnick's potential appointment signals a possible pro-crypto shift in U.S. policy, given his involvement with blockchain and digital asset initiatives.
Lutnick’s potential appointment signals a possible pro-crypto shift in U.S. policy, given his involvement with blockchain and digital asset initiatives.
As a key figure on Trump’s transition team, his influence in shaping the regulatory landscape could have significant implications for the cryptocurrency industry.
In recent developments, Cantor Fitzgerald deepened its partnership with stablecoin issuer Tether, acquiring a 5% ownership stake reportedly valued at $600 million. This investment places Tether’s valuation at approximately $12 billion. According to sources cited in a Wall Street Journal report, Lutnick is seen as a valuable ally in addressing regulatory challenges faced by Tether, particularly concerning offshore stablecoins.
Tether has faced scrutiny over potential misuse of its USDT stablecoin, with investigations examining its alleged role in facilitating illicit activities and its use by sanctioned entities. While Tether denies being under formal investigation, reports suggest that U.S. authorities are monitoring its operations closely.
READ MORE: Solana Leads in NFT Buyers as Market Continues to Show Resilience
Despite regulatory pressures, Tether has thrived amid rising Treasury yields, generating $7.7 billion in profit during the first nine months of the year. The company’s relationship with Cantor Fitzgerald has also strengthened, with Cantor managing a significant portion of Tether’s reserves and earning substantial fees for its services.
In light of his nomination, Lutnick has announced plans to resign from his positions at Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC, and Newmark, adhering to U.S. ethics regulations. He emphasized his intent to divest interests in these companies to comply with federal guidelines.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
