US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has begun strategic talks with Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, seeking to deepen financial ties and foster a crypto-friendly ecosystem.
Transition team co-chair and Commerce Secretary-designate Howard Lutnick has taken the lead in these negotiations, Bloomberg reported.
Lutnick, who is also CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, is in talks with Tether for support in a multi-billion dollar program that plans to offer loans using bitcoin (BTC) as collateral.
The program, which will initially have $2 billion, aims to grow to tens of billions, enabling the development of new businesses and attracting investment to the U.S. market .
The proposal comes at a crucial time for the digital asset industry, which is facing regulatory challenges and the need for a more favorable environment.
Tether, for its part, already maintains a strategic relationship with Cantor Fitzgerald, which acts as custodian of the billions of dollars in US Treasury bonds that back the value of USDT.
Howard Lutnick, next US Secretary of Commerce. Source: Bitcoin Conference 2024 - YouTube.
This relationship generates significant annual revenues for Cantor, estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, and could be further strengthened with this new alliance.
Lutnick's influence on the cryptocurrency ecosystem
Lutnick is a well-known proponent of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Under his leadership, Cantor Fitzgerald has actively invested in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the spot price of bitcoin.
The company has more than $18 million in shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust of the giant BlackRock. It has also invested $4 million in shares of the ETF managed by Fidelity, $1 million in the Proshares ETF and $360,000 in the financial instrument managed by ARK Invest.
His appointment as Secretary of Commerce could open up new opportunities for the cryptocurrency sector and benefit key companies such as Tether.
However, the negotiations are not without controversy. Tether faces a criminal investigation in the United States for alleged violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations.
Despite these challenges, Tether remains the most relevant stablecoin in the market, with a capitalization of approximately $120 billion, becoming a fundamental pillar for transactions in the cryptoasset industry.
The Trump administration has promised regulatory easing to boost the growth of the digital asset ecosystem.
For example, the Blockchain Association, which supports the Republican leader, proposes regulation of stablecoins, such as USDT, which would be key to fostering innovation while protecting consumers.
If these negotiations succeed, the Trump administration could mark a significant shift in the relationship between the public sector and the cryptocurrency industry, cementing the United States as a global leader in digital assets.
