- Cantor Fitzgerald and Tether want to develop a Bitcoin-backed lending program.
- Lutnick’s potential appointment as Commerce Secretary could have an impact on crypto policies.
Cantor Fitzgerald Chief Executive Howard Lutnick said the firm will push the relationship to new highs by launching a multibillion-dollar Bitcoin-backed lending program. He believes the program will initially launch with $2 billion if it succeeds, extending clients’ ability to borrow dollars against their Bitcoins. It may run into tens of billions, he said, and make Cantor Fitzgerald a leader in crypto-backed financial services.
The proposed Bitcoin-backed lending program is a significant step for Cantor Fitzgerald in further involvement in the Bitcoin universe. The company is already associated with Tether’s custodial services, holding tens of billions of dollars in U.S. Treasuries as a backing for USDT. The program has already earned millions of dollars for Cantor, and a Bitcoin-backed lending program would likely reinforce the firm’s as well as Tether’s market positions.
Strategic Foray into Bitcoin Lending
Discussions on this new program are also currently underway, and insiders claim that this will revolutionize how financial institutions are interacting with blockchain-based assets. Given Bitcoin’s increasing influence in the financial landscape of the institutional kind, this cooperation might just usher in a new gold standard for the sector.
Lutnick has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be the next U.S. Commerce Secretary and is a known proponent of cryptocurrency. His appointment is consistent with the strategy that Trump has been adopting to retain crypto-friendly figures in crucial positions. While he initially lobbied for the Treasury Secretary post, Lutnick will oversee Cantor’s cryptocurrency business as it prepares for his confirmation into the Senate. Well-entrenched in both Wall Street and the crypto industry, he uniquely positions himself to influence policy related to digital assets.
The son of the family, Brandon Lutnick, who already had an internship at Tether, is likely to be part of the management of this cooperation due to the growing influence of this family not only in traditional finance but also in digital assets.
This cooperation will help solidify Wall Street’s further intertwining with the crypto industry and redefine major financial institutions’ collaborations with blockchain-based entities.
Thus, it shows the change in the landscape of finance and connects solidity in traditional finance with flexibility in cryptocurrency. Going forward, as Bitcoin’s involvement with mainstream finance deepens, the current collaboration may look like the future, at least as far as crypto-backed financial products are concerned.
