A Wall Street billionaire who heads the transition team responsible for staffing the incoming Trump administration is one of the potential candidates to become the next Treasury secretary, according to reports.
Howard Lutnick, CEO of private investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, is an ally of President Trump who leads the transition team.
Since Trump's landslide victory in last Tuesday's election, Lutnick has been collecting names to fill thousands of positions in the next administration.
“There are many candidates.” Lutnick told CNN. “I'm ready. I feel great.”
Lutnick and transition team co-chair Linda McMahon are tasked with filling about 4,000 positions in the federal government. This includes everyone from the Secretary of State and other cabinet department heads to those elected part-time on boards and committees.
About 1,200 of the president's appointments require Senate confirmation, which should become easier now that the Senate is under Republican control.
If Trump nominates Lutnick as Treasury secretary, he would oversee potential sanctions against Tether, a digital stablecoin created in 2014 and pegged to the U.S. dollar. , there may be a conflict of interest. to the report.
Lutnick touted Tether at the press conference. Cantor Fitzgerald also controls a significant portion of Tether's reserve assets, particularly the U.S. Treasuries that back the cryptocurrency.
Mr. Lutnick could also take up a senior position in the Trump administration, giving him influence over decisions related to cryptocurrencies, potentially creating new conflicts of interest.
The Treasury Department was investigating Tether even before Lutnick became involved with the Trump campaign, according to a person familiar with the situation. he told the Washington Post.
Treasury officials stressed that any sanctions that may be imposed on Tether are unrelated to Lutnick's political activities, the paper said.
Cryptocurrency stocks soared after Trump's election victory was highlighted last Tuesday. During his campaign, President Trump promised to appoint industry-friendly bureaucrats to top positions, ushering in an era of deregulation.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, broke previous records on Monday, reaching an all-time high of $83,361 per unit.
As of Monday, Tether's market capitalization was $123.5 billion, according to . Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase.
In January, Lutnick told Bloomberg News. He said he could personally vouch for the authenticity of Tether's financial statements, telling financial media: “They have the money they claim to have.”
However, investigators at the Treasury Department are investigating possible connections between this virtual currency and international criminals.
Tether could face federal sanctions for allegedly facilitating trafficking for Mexican drug cartels.
There are also concerns that terrorist organizations such as the Palestinian group Hamas are using cryptocurrencies to fund their operations.
In October of last year, The Wall Street Journal cited the Israeli government's seizure order. Blockchain analysis reports also show that Palestinian terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad raised tens of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies in the months leading up to the October 7 attacks.
“Tether has been used for terrorist financing and is also widely used for crypto fraud and fraud,” Adam Zarazynski, CEO of crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital, told the Post in February.
The report said the transactions were primarily processed through Tether.
Tether officials said the $93 million reported by the Journal was “significantly exaggerated and inaccurate.”
Tether has been the subject of intense scrutiny by federal investigators for months, with Russia using the cryptocurrency to facilitate payments and circumvent sanctions imposed on the country following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It is claimed that it is used.
In June, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory alleging that transnational criminal groups are using Tether and other digital currencies to purchase equipment and chemicals from Chinese suppliers.
Tether denies the charges.
“There is no indication that Tether is under investigation,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino wrote in X last month.
Tether also issued a statement saying it was “not aware of any such investigation against the company.”
The newspaper has contacted Lutnick, Tether and the Treasury Department for comment.
