US Senate confirms pro-crypto Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly nominee Howard Lutnick as the 41st Secretary of Commerce. The confirmation, decided on Tuesday, passed with a vote of 51 to 45.

As Secretary of Commerce, Lutnick would work on creating jobs, promoting economic growth and encouraging innovation, according to the department's mission statement. Lutnick is also expected to work in support of Trump’s trade agenda, outlined by his push for steep import taxes on goods from U.S. trading partners.

According to AP, Lutnick dismissed the view that tariffs contribute to inflation during his confirmation hearing. He also advocated using tariffs as leverage to pressure other countries to lower barriers to U.S. exports.

Lutnick has served as chairman and CEO of global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, a company he has been part of since 1983. Following his confirmation, Lutnick announced his resignation from his positions at Cantor.

“Lutnick has agreed to divest his business interests in Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC Group, Inc. and Newmark Group, Inc. to comply with U.S. government ethics rules and does not expect any arrangement that involves selling shares on the open market,” Cantor noted in a press release.

Cantor has also provided custody services for Tether. USDT stablecoin is currently the largest stablecoin with a $141.7 billion market capitalization, according to The Block’s data.

The new leader of U.S. Commerce personally spoke in support of Tether at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Las Vegas, affirming that USDT was fully backed one-to-one by reserves in U.S. Treasuries, bitcoin and gold. 

During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing last month, Lutnick again vouched for Tether against questions about Tether USDT reserves and the stablecoin’s involvement in illicit finance.

Lutnick is also known as a strong supporter of bitcoin, previously saying that Cantor and himself personally own bitcoin. "My view is bitcoin, like gold, should be free to trade everywhere in the world," Lutnick said at Bitcoin 2024.

Other well-known Bitcoin proponents, such as MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor and Senator Cynthia Lummis, congratulated Lutnick on his confirmation.

“Congratulations to my friend, Secretary Howard Lutnick!” Lummis wrote on X. “I know he will do a fantastic job reinvigorating our economy.”