Trump Commerce Secretary's company acquires Tether shares, launches BTC loan program

Source: Blockchain Knight

According to Bloomberg on Sunday, financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, a banking partner of Tether, is seeking cooperation with the stablecoin issuer to launch a program that allows customers to borrow dollars with BTC as collateral.

The company currently plans to open loans based on $2 billion in BTC, but it is expected to increase to tens of billions of dollars.

Cantor Fitzgerald has been working to raise funds for this plan, which has not yet officially launched.

Related people said: "If Tether decides to cooperate, it will become one of several financial contributors."

Cantor Fitzgerald has established deep business ties with Tether.

Cantor Fitzgerald's custody business earns tens of millions of dollars in fees each year because it holds billions of dollars worth of U.S. Treasury bonds, which are backed by Tether (USDT), the world's largest stablecoin.

In fact, Cantor Fitzgerald continues to provide banking support for Tether even though several banks around the world have refused.

In addition, Cantor Fitzgerald agreed to acquire approximately 5% of Tether's shares for approximately $600 million last year, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on November 24.

A few days ago, Trump nominated Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, as the next Secretary of Commerce, who is also one of Trump's transition advisers.

Once confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick will resign as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald.

With Lutnick joining the Trump administration next year, Tether is expected to gain important political support.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Giancarlo Devasini, who is suspected to be Tether's largest shareholder, previously stated that Lutnick will use his political influence to defuse any potential threats against Tether.

The WSJ report also claims that as a transition adviser, Lutnick already has a say in who Trump picks for other senior government positions, including those who could oversee Tether.

Tether has often been mired in controversy, with some questioning whether Tether has enough reserves to allow USDT to be backed 1:1 by the U.S. dollar.

But Lutnick has personally vouched for Tether on several occasions.

In January, Lutnick confirmed that Tether does have enough reserves to back its stablecoin.

In addition, last month the WSJ reported that Tether is under investigation in the U.S. for possible violations of sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations.

However, Tether has refuted this.

Lutnick, a well-known supporter of BTC and digital assets, said in September this year: "Regulators should treat BTC as a commodity, just like gold or oil."

"Regulators know almost nothing about digital assets and how to regulate them."