Trump Taps Howard Lutnick of Cantor Fitzgerald to Lead Commerce Department

Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to keep a constant value, and are backed by traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar or euro.

Cantor Fitzgerald did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment outside business hours.

However, Tether’s use of Cantor to hold billions of dollars in Treasuries that support the value of its stablecoin in a relationship that helps Lutnick’s firm earn tens of millions of dollars annually, was reported by Bloomberg.

Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to keep a constant value, and are backed by traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar or euro.

Earlier this week, Trump said he would nominate Lutnick to lead his trade and tariff strategy as head of the Commerce Department. Lutnick would also have “additional direct responsibility” for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.

Lutnick has been known to promote the adoption of cryptocurrency.

The Commerce Department oversees a sprawling array of functions with nearly 47,000 employees, from the U.S. Census Bureau to weather forecasting, ocean navigation and investment promotion.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Disha Mishra; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Leslie Adler)