Donald Trump names Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead his potential transition team

Quick Take

  • Cantor Fitzgerald has been a custodian for Tether since late 2021, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino previously told The Block.
  • Alexander Grieve, vice president of government affairs at Paradigm said Trump’s pick was big for the crypto industry, calling Lutnick a “big crypto bull.”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reportedly announced that Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald which banks Tether, will help lead his transition team if he becomes president again.

Lutnick will co-chair alongside Linda McMahon, who was previously the U.S. Administrator of the Small Business Administration. His vice president pick J.D. Vance and Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, will be honorary chairs if Trump, according to multiple reports.

Trump's campaign team and Cantor Fitzgerald did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cantor Fitzgerald has been a custodian for Tether since late 2021, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino previously told The Block. USDT is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization and is used globally. There has been prolonged speculation about Tether's reserves, with some saying it lacks one-to-one backing for USDT, but Tether has consistently pushed back on those allegations.

Lutnick stood by Tether in an interview with Bloomberg Television from the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

"I manage many, many of their assets," Lutnick said in that interview. "From what we've seen, and we did a lot of work, they have the money."

Alexander Grieve, vice president of government affairs at Paradigm said Trump's pick was big for the crypto industry.

"Trump Transition leadership announced," Grieve said on X on Friday. "Inclusion of Howard Lutnick is huge for crypto. "He personally briefed the House Republican Conference last year on stablecoins, and is a big crypto bull."

Crypto has become a significant part of the upcoming election season with millions of dollars flooding into super political action committees and Trump telling voters he would end an "unlawful and un-American crackdown" on the U.S. crypto industry. The former president has also made inroads with the industry by selecting crypto-friendly Vance as his running mate and promised to advocate for bitcoin miners.

Meanwhile, candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has begun reaching out to the crypto industry and says they want to learn more about crypto. Harris has not yet taken a public position on crypto.


Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.

Editor

To contact the editor of this story:
Jason Shubnell at
[email protected]