Cantor Fitzgerald is set to launch a fiat lending business secured by bitcoin. This was announced by the CEO of the financial group, Howard Lutnick, as reported by The Block.
The initial limit will be $2 billion, with plans to double it in the future. Clients of the company will effectively be able to leverage their coins.
“We will welcome bitcoin into the family of global financial markets. […] Cantor Fitzgerald will create the best platform for financing the first cryptocurrency […] with the best custodians. The asset should trade like gold, worldwide without exceptions and restrictions,” commented the top manager.
Lutnick revealed that he owns bitcoin, as does the organization he leads, as he is a fan along with “all his partners.”
The CEO of the financial group defended Tether (USDT). Cantor Fitzgerald holds the backing for its stablecoin.
“USDT is fundamentally different from USDC. The former’s reserves are formed by treasury obligations, and Cantor Fitzgerald, as a primary dealer, can liquidate them and meet your demands without issue,” explained Lutnick.
The top manager noted that in 2023, Circle, the issuer of USDC, placed part of its backing in the bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank.
“Tether holds treasury bonds that earn about 5.25%. Why would you place $3.3 billion in an uninsured bank account at 25 basis points?” he stated.
Lutnick also supported Tether in light of accusations of USDT being used by terrorist groups.
“We would never associate with a firm involved in jihad […] What an outrageous and patently false nonsense?” he pointed out.
By the end of the first quarter of 2024, 13 of the 25 largest hedge funds in the US held bitcoin-based products, according to River.
In May, the head of digital assets at BlackRock, Robert Mitchnick, stated expectations of a new wave of inflows into spot BTC-ETFs due to institutional participation.
In April, a similar forecast was presented by Bernstein analysts.