Cantor Fitzgerald Plans $2 Billion Bitcoin Lending Program via Tether: Report

U.S. financial services and bond trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald is reportedly discussing a multibillion-dollar Bitcoin-backed lending program with the help of Tether.The proposed program would allow clients to borrow dollars using Bitcoin as collateral. Initially, the operation would begin with a $2 billion allotment, though it has the potential to expand as crypto sees more adoption, according to a Bloomberg It’s yet another step towards a symbiotic relationship between Wall Street and the crypto industry, which has deepened this year, particularly as an expected The Bitcoin lending program, still in its early stages, would likely include multiple financial contributors alongside Tether, per the report. Cantor is already recruiting staff for the initiative.The move comes as Cantor’s chief, Howard Lutnick, was In a prepared statement following the nomination, Lutnick Lutnick’s departure from key roles applies to his positions at Cantor, BGC, and Newmark.As Lutnick prepares to depart Cantor pending Senate confirmation, he plans to hand over the firm’s Tether relationship to colleagues.His son, Brandon, is cited as a possible candidate, per the Bloomberg report. Brandon previously interned at Tether’s Swiss operations and is now at Cantor, is said to have counted gold bars backing Tether’s $660 million gold-backed token (Tether Gold) during his internship in Lugano.“The ratings assigned to Cantor, BGC, and Newmark incorporate key person risk associated with Lutnick given his majority voting control, market relationships, close involvement in many aspects of the businesses, and outsized influence on the firms’ respective strategic directions,” a Cantor already manages most of Tether’s The WSJ report cites a statement issued before Lutnick’s selection as commerce secretary, where a spokesperson maintained that Tether’s relationship with Cantor was “entirely professional, based on managing reserves,” dismissing suggestions that Lutnick’s political connections could influence regulatory actions. The same report quotes Lutnick’s statements at the Bitcoin Conference at Nashville in July when he described his first meeting with Tether CFO Giancarlo Devasini:”I basically told him the movie line. I said, ‘Show me the money’ […] And we found every penny, and they had every penny.”These statements point to what Tether had been struggling with over the years: proving it indeed does have the A U.N. Tether has repeatedly refuted those claims, saying it instead provides support to Shifts in The bill seeks to ban offshore operations for stablecoins using the U.S. dollar as its peg, which could take a significant swing at Tether’s issuance.Tether Limited, the company that oversees issuance for USDT, is incorporated in Hong Kong and is wholly owned by Tether Holdings Ltd., which in turn is registered in the British Virgin Islands.Tether’s offshore banking relationships came under increased scrutiny after a $18.5 million settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office in 2021 over misrepresenting its reserves. The The company’s deliberately offshore corporate structure, operating through multiple jurisdictions, has made it a target for U.S. legislators seeking to bring dollar-pegged stablecoins under domestic regulatory frameworks.Edited by Sebastian Sinclair