President-elect Trump’s choice for Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, wants to start a $2 billion scheme to lend cash to customers against Bitcoin.
Tether, the business that created the biggest stablecoin in the world, would support Cantor Fitzgerald as part of the arrangement in order to help finance the project.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the new initiative is anticipated to grow to tens of billions of dollars.
Tether now uses Cantor Fitzgerald as its custody provider for the USDT stablecoin, which is backed by billions of US Treasuries. According to the source, Cantor has paid $600 million to acquire a 5% stake in Tether.
Although official lending activities have not yet begun, Cantor has already started hiring people for the loan initiative.
Lutnick intends to assign colleagues to oversee the company’s Tether partnership as he gets ready to move to the Commerce Department. Brandon Lutnick, his son, is a Cantor trader and was once an intern at Tether’s office in Lugano, Switzerland.
This comes as Trump’s transition team is thinking about establishing a new crypto policy position in the White House. Trump has recently become an outspoken advocate for digital assets.
He supported initiatives connected to his sons, such as World Liberty Financial. If confirmed, Lutnick would be in charge of around 47,000 Commerce personnel, handling everything from trade promotion to the Census Bureau.
Notwithstanding the changes, Tether is still under regulatory examination for possible sanctions violations and anti-money laundering issues, both of which the business disputes.
With a market valuation of more than $132 billion, USDT is still the biggest stablecoin in spite of the accusations.
Trump and Lutnick have maintained a professional and amicable relationship throughout the years, chiefly shaped by their joint engagement in the financial and real estate sectors.
