Donald Trump Nominates Pro-Bitcoin CEO Cantor Fitzgerald as Commerce Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Howard Lutnick, the chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and a prominent proponent of cryptocurrency, to be the next US Secretary of Commerce.

The announcement was made Nov. 19 via a statement from Trump, followed by Lutnick’s acknowledgment of the appointment on social media.

Details of the appointment

“I am pleased to announce that Howard Lutnick will join my administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce,” Trump said in his statement.

The release elaborated on Lutnick’s responsibilities, noting that he would play an important role in advancing the president’s economic and trade agenda. This includes directing the administration’s trade and tariff policies and overseeing the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The president-elect also praised his leadership as co-chairman of the Trump-Vance transition team, describing the system he developed as instrumental in assembling “the best administration America has ever seen.”

Lutnick expressed gratitude in a post on X: “Thank you, President Trump, for your trust in me to help make America great again.” The businessman added that as the new Secretary of Commerce, he he would usher in the best administration in US history and work to unleash the nation’s full economic potential.

Bitcoin and Tether Advocacy

Trump’s transition team has been in talks with crypto leaders and has shown interest in appointing cryptocurrency-friendly figures to key financial regulatory positions. Lutnick’s nomination is seen as a step in this initiative and seems particularly significant for the cryptocurrency sector. The CEO has long championed Bitcoin and stablecoins.

In a previous Fox Business interview, the 63-year-old urged US regulators to classify Bitcoin as a commodity, similar to gold or oil. He has also backed Tether in previous interviews.

“Bitcoin is a commodity. It should be treated like gold and like oil. It’s just a commodity.”

Lutnick is also the chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm that acts as a primary dealer, trading directly with the Federal Reserve. The company has expanded its operations to include cryptocurrency services. It manages Tether’s US Treasury holdings that back its USDT stablecoin.

The company also recently launched a $2 billion Bitcoin funding initiative. In his closing statement at the 2024 Bitcoin conference, the CEO said the company would welcome “Bitcoin into the global financial market funding family.”

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