Donald Trump taps crypto advocate Lutnick as commerce secretary

     

The future commerce secretary is a billionaire whose Wall Street firm has ties to Tether.

United States President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to be his Secretary of Commerce, according to press reports on Nov. 19. Lutnick has a long record as a cryptocurrency proponent.

The Secretary of Commerce is charged with advancing US business both domestically and abroad. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States — the president’s closest advisers. Lutnick is currently the co-lead of the Trump transition team and was seen as the most likely candidate for the Cabinet position.

A billionaire looking after Tether’s billions

Lutnick has attracted attention in the crypto world for his ties to the stablecoin issuer Tether and statements he has made about Bitcoin.

Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street financial services firm that Lutnick has headed since 1996, has managed Tether’s US Treasury portfolio since 2021 and its bond portfolio since 2023. Tether, which has a $129 billion market cap, has been criticized for its accounting practices and resisting calls to conduct a financial audit.

Lutnick publicly expressed confidence in Tether’s financial health several times. He is also a “big fan” of Bitcoin, although his perspective on it may be unique. Spot BTC ETFs are “a way for Americans to buy” Bitcoin, he said in January, but Bitcoin “isn’t an American thing.”

Lutnick likes Bitcoin

Lutnick was more enthusiastic about Bitcoin when he appeared at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July. “Cantor Fitzgerald is here to announce that we are launching a Bitcoin financing business. […] We are going to launch with $2 billion of lending.”

The details of that business have yet to be disclosed. Trump also appeared at the conference.

In September, Lutnick told Fox News that Bitcoin is a commodity. He also criticized US regulators, saying:

“Let’s face it: they don’t even know how to do crypto and digital at all, and they have no idea; they still don’t understand how important it is to get it right.”

Lutnick will replace former Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo.