Cantor Fitzgerald CEO says Tether has the billions of dollars in reserves it claims

Howard Lutnick, chairman, CEO and the majority owner of financial services giant Cantor Fitzgerald, said Tether USDT -0.046% has the funds it claims after examining portions of the stablecoin issuer's balance sheet as a custodian.

"I manage many, many of their assets," Lutnick said in an interview today with Bloomberg Television from the World Economic Forum in Davos. "From what we've seen, and we did a lot of work, they have the money."

Tether declared about $86 billion worth of assets as of September to back about $83 billion worth of its USDT stablecoin in its latest attestation report published in October, Lutnick noted.

"I've seen a whole lot, and the firm has seen whole a lot, and they have the money," he said. "And so there has always been a lot of talk, 'Do they have it or not?' So I'm here with you guys saying we've seen it, and they have it."

Cantor Fitzgerald has been a Tether custodian since late 2021, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told The Block.

"While naysayers have had their go at Tether over the years, it's heartening to hear Lutnick affirming the robustness of our reserves," Ardoino said. "It's not just an affirmation; it's concrete evidence of Tether's financial strength."

Cantor custodies "the vast vast majority" of Tether's reserves, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told The Block.

Tether has been the subject of prolonged speculation about its reserves, with some suggesting in the past that it lacks one-to-one backing for USDT. The company has consistently pushed back against those allegations.

In February 2021, Tether settled with the New York Attorney General and paid $18.5 million in penalties. The NYAG's office said that at least from June 1, 2017 until September 15, 2017, USDT stablecoins were "not backed '1-to-1' by USD held by Tether in a bank account."

Lutnick, a Tether 'fan'

Lutnick likes Tether as a company, he said in the interview, adding that the USDT stablecoin is a way to hold on to the dollar in high-inflation countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, and Turkey.

This is not the first time Lutnick has praised Tether. In December, he reportedly said that he was a "big fan of this stablecoin called Tether. I hold their Treasuries. So I keep their Treasuries, and they have a lot of Treasuries."

The USDT stablecoin continues to be a popular choice among crypto traders, with its current total supply at about 99.5 billion coins, according to The Block's data dashboard.

Lutnick on bitcoin

Lutnick also commented on bitcoin in the Bloomberg TV interview, saying the world's largest cryptocurrency is set to "rally and grow" when the next Bitcoin halving occurs in the next few months.

The recent approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds isn't going to help bitcoin rise much, according to Lutnick, who said such funds are "just a way for Americans to buy" bitcoin.

He suggested Americans might still not have a strong use case for bitcoin and stablecoins.

"Well, I can give you money on Venmo and PayPal. It's not an American thing," he said, adding that Americans like buying Tesla stock more.