Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly agreed to a 5% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether in the past year, which could position the company to receive more political support from the incoming Trump administration.
The 5% stake was reportedly valued up to $600 million when the agreement was made, WSJ said in the Nov. 24 report, citing information from business associates familiar with the matter.
It could mean Tether receives more political support as Cantor Fitzgerald’s CEO Howard Lutnick was appointed as United States President-Elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of Commerce on Nov. 19.
Giancarlo Devasini, suspected to be the largest shareholder of Tether, reportedly said words to the effect of: “Lutnick will use his political clout to try to defuse threats facing Tether,” WSJ claimed.
Lutnick is already working closely with Trump as one of his transition advisors. There, he has been vetting candidates for other top government jobs that could involve supervising Tether, WSJ noted.
Lutnick said he would step down as Cantor Fitzgerald’s CEO upon senate confirmation.
It follows reports that the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has been investigating whether Tether is being used by third parties for illicit activities, such as terrorism financing.
Cantor Fitzgerald has been one of Tether’s most important banking partners at a time where the stablecoin issuer has been cut off by many banks around the world.
The Lutnick-led firm holds most of Tether’s USDTUSD $134 billion reserves, largely in US Treasury bills.
Lutnick has publicly expressed confidence in Tether’s financial health several times and highlighted the important role that a US dollar-backed stablecoin can play for people in high-inflation countries like Argentina, Turkey and Venezuela.
He also announced Cantor Fitzgerald’s new Bitcoin lending program at the Bitcoin 2024 conference back in July.
“We will offer leverage to those who own Bitcoin. We are going to launch with $2 billion of lending,” Lutnick said at the time.
Cantor Fitzgerald currently holds around $3.5 billion worth of assets, according to Fintel data.
Lutnick said Wednesday he will step down from his positions at Cantor
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