A letter of inquiry places stablecoins and Wall Street at the same table.
On the 8th, Democratic Chief Counsel of the Senate Standing Investigations Subcommittee, Richard Blumenthal, wrote to Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Brandon Lutnick, asking for an explanation of the company’s business relationship with Tether. The brokerage holds about 5% equity in Tether, while it also manages over $100 billion in U.S. reserve assets for Tether.
The inquiry draft comes from the committee’s September 28 report. The report lists 846 wallets that have been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and Israel’s counter-terrorism financing intelligence unit, with 84% relying primarily on USDT transactions. The report also identifies two sanctioned Iranian oil smugglers, saying the two transferred more than $603 million in USDT through networks linked to Hezbollah and the Houthi armed group.
The letter shifts the focus from the issuer to the party that holds the shares and runs the reserves, pointing to a more specific question: How does the same institution, which participates in equity gains and controls the operation of reserve assets, demonstrate that its screening process is independent?
Tether previously said it would cooperate with law enforcement, freezing around $550 million worth of Iran-related USDT within 2026. To date, neither company has responded to the inquiry.
The inquiry letter does not constitute an accusation. What comes next will depend on whether the Treasury Secretary and the Attorney General launch a formal investigation, and whether the committee can obtain subpoena power after the midterm elections in mid-November.
#监管 #stablecoin
On the 8th, Democratic Chief Counsel of the Senate Standing Investigations Subcommittee, Richard Blumenthal, wrote to Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Brandon Lutnick, asking for an explanation of the company’s business relationship with Tether. The brokerage holds about 5% equity in Tether, while it also manages over $100 billion in U.S. reserve assets for Tether.
The inquiry draft comes from the committee’s September 28 report. The report lists 846 wallets that have been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and Israel’s counter-terrorism financing intelligence unit, with 84% relying primarily on USDT transactions. The report also identifies two sanctioned Iranian oil smugglers, saying the two transferred more than $603 million in USDT through networks linked to Hezbollah and the Houthi armed group.
The letter shifts the focus from the issuer to the party that holds the shares and runs the reserves, pointing to a more specific question: How does the same institution, which participates in equity gains and controls the operation of reserve assets, demonstrate that its screening process is independent?
Tether previously said it would cooperate with law enforcement, freezing around $550 million worth of Iran-related USDT within 2026. To date, neither company has responded to the inquiry.
The inquiry letter does not constitute an accusation. What comes next will depend on whether the Treasury Secretary and the Attorney General launch a formal investigation, and whether the committee can obtain subpoena power after the midterm elections in mid-November.
#监管 #stablecoin