President-elect Trump of the United States announced today that he will nominate Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as the Secretary of Commerce, whose responsibility is to promote business development in the United States and oversee U.S. tariff and trade policy. Howard Lutnick is currently the co-chairman of Trump's transition team and was initially considered the leading candidate for the position of Treasury Secretary.
Cointelegraph reports that Howard Lutnick has long been a supporter of cryptocurrencies, and since 2021, his Wall Street financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald has been managing Tether's U.S. Treasury investment portfolio, and will manage its bond investment portfolio starting in 2023. Tether's market capitalization currently stands at $129 billion, but it has previously been criticized for its accounting practices and has refused to undergo a financial audit.
Howard Lutnick has publicly expressed confidence in Tether's financial stability on multiple occasions, and he has also described himself as a "big fan" of Bitcoin. However, his views on Bitcoin differ from the mainstream, as he stated in January this year that a Bitcoin spot ETF is a "way for Americans to buy Bitcoin," but Bitcoin "is not an American thing."
At the Bitcoin conference in July 2024, Howard Lutnick announced that Cantor Fitzgerald will launch a Bitcoin lending business, with an initial lending volume of $2 billion, although he did not provide details. In September this year, he criticized U.S. regulators for not understanding cryptocurrencies, emphasizing that Bitcoin is a commodity, not a security.
Crypto Lawyer May Lead SEC
According to Coindesk reports, industry sources indicate that the Trump transition team is considering BakerHostetler partner and co-head of the firm's blockchain team, Teresa Goody Guillén, as a candidate for the new SEC chairman.
Goody Guillén is an experienced securities lawyer who has worked at the SEC and has challenged the agency while representing blockchain companies and traditional businesses. Sources say Trump is looking for a pro-crypto, non-bureaucratic leader to reform the SEC and adopt a more lenient regulatory approach.
Goody Guillén is currently on a competitive shortlist to replace the current SEC chairman, Gary Gensler, who is expected to resign before Trump's inauguration on January 20th. Trump had promised during the campaign to fire Gensler on his first day in office.
Other potential SEC chairman candidates include: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner Robert Stebbins, Paul Hastings partner Brad Bondi, former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins, Robinhood's general counsel Dan Gallagher, and former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks.
Washington insiders say that unlike Trump's first term, the personnel appointments for his second term are expected to be swift and orderly, with the new SEC chairman likely to be confirmed before Thanksgiving.
