(Reuters) – Howard Lutnick, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary, is in talks to deepen his financial ties with the company that operates the world's largest stablecoin, by launching a $2 billion project to lend dollars to clients against bitcoin, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
Lutnick's financial services firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, is considering receiving support from Tether to help finance the project, which could potentially reach tens of billions of dollars, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter.
Tether and Cantor did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside business hours.
Tether uses Cantor to hold billions of dollars in Treasury bonds that back the value of its stablecoin in a relationship that helps Lutnick's company earn tens of millions of dollars annually, Bloomberg reported.
Earlier this week, Trump said he would nominate Wall Street CEO Howard Lutnick to lead his trade and tariff strategy as head of the Commerce Department. He would also have “additional direct responsibility” over the U.S. Trade Representative's office.
Lutnick is known to promote cryptocurrency adoption. The Commerce Department oversees a wide variety of functions with nearly 47,000 employees, from the U.S. Census Bureau to weather forecasting, ocean navigation and investment promotion.
