Cryptocurrency Advocate Howard Lutnick Appointed as US Commerce Secretary

The US Senate has confirmed Howard Lutnick as the Secretary of Commerce, reports FoxNews. Previously, he served as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald (a custodian of collateral and an active supporter of Tether) but left the position upon his appointment.

According to media reports, Lutnick is one of the wealthiest individuals to have ever worked in a presidential administration. He has pledged to divest his financial interests to remain impartial.

“My plan is to serve only the American people. Therefore, I will sell all my business interests, all my assets, everything. I have worked with the Office of Government Ethics, and we have reached an agreement on how to do this. I will sell within 90 days of my confirmation,” said the then-candidate for the post of Secretary.

During the discussion of his candidacy, Lutnick supported President Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policies:

“The global trade environment treats us terribly. They all have high tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, and subsidies. We need to be treated better. We can use tariffs to create reciprocity.”

Last week, Trump directed federal agencies to explore the implementation of reciprocal tariffs to address imbalances introduced by countries selling American products. Lutnick stated he would prepare a report by April 1.

Previously, as a former co-chair of Trump’s presidential transition team, the businessman received praise from the head of state, who aims to “create the greatest administration America has ever seen.”

In the summer of 2024, Howard Lutnick spoke at a conference in Nashville, where he discussed how Circle and FTX “tried to destroy USDT.”

Back in late January 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren expressed “serious concern” regarding Lutnick’s “personal ties” with Tether and affiliated parties. She described the stablecoin issuer as a “notorious facilitator of criminal activity,” and USDT as the “cryptocurrency of choice for wrongdoers.”