On October 8, senior Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Brandon Lutnick, requesting a response by October 23.
The central questions in the investigation:
Cantor Fitzgerald holds a 5% stake in Tether while also managing Tether’s reserve assets in the United States (primarily U.S. Treasuries)—a dual role as both shareholder and custodian.
Blumenthal wants to know: What compliance reviews did Cantor conduct after learning that Tether was being used to evade sanctions?
The political context is more complicated than the business context:
Howard Lutnick was Cantor’s former CEO. In 2024, Cantor received a 5% stake in Tether (valued at about $600 million at the time, reportedly rising to about $10 billion after Trump took office). In February 2025, Howard Lutnick was appointed Commerce Secretary by Trump and left Cantor, handing the company over to his son Brandon.
Blumenthal’s letter requests all records of communications related to Tether from Howard Lutnick’s time at Cantor and after his departure, as well as any financial arrangements the family received through the Cantor-Tether relationship.
Context: On September 28, Blumenthal had already released a Senate report stating that USDT appeared in 84% of 846 addresses linked to Iran sanctions—Tether’s stablecoin is believed to be a major payment instrument in Iran’s shadow banking network.
Blumenthal wrote: “Cantor Fitzgerald’s financial ties put U.S. national security at risk.”
Neither Cantor nor Tether responded immediately.
Timing: The midterm elections are on November 4, when the balance of seats in the Senate could change—Blumenthal is using the investigation to build political leverage.
For USDT: This is the most concentrated regulatory pressure Tether has faced this year. At the same time, the SEC is advancing stablecoin rules, and Circle is preparing to go public. The stablecoin regulatory landscape is being reshaped.
$USDT $BTC
#美参议员调查cantorfitzgerald与tether关系
The central questions in the investigation:
Cantor Fitzgerald holds a 5% stake in Tether while also managing Tether’s reserve assets in the United States (primarily U.S. Treasuries)—a dual role as both shareholder and custodian.
Blumenthal wants to know: What compliance reviews did Cantor conduct after learning that Tether was being used to evade sanctions?
The political context is more complicated than the business context:
Howard Lutnick was Cantor’s former CEO. In 2024, Cantor received a 5% stake in Tether (valued at about $600 million at the time, reportedly rising to about $10 billion after Trump took office). In February 2025, Howard Lutnick was appointed Commerce Secretary by Trump and left Cantor, handing the company over to his son Brandon.
Blumenthal’s letter requests all records of communications related to Tether from Howard Lutnick’s time at Cantor and after his departure, as well as any financial arrangements the family received through the Cantor-Tether relationship.
Context: On September 28, Blumenthal had already released a Senate report stating that USDT appeared in 84% of 846 addresses linked to Iran sanctions—Tether’s stablecoin is believed to be a major payment instrument in Iran’s shadow banking network.
Blumenthal wrote: “Cantor Fitzgerald’s financial ties put U.S. national security at risk.”
Neither Cantor nor Tether responded immediately.
Timing: The midterm elections are on November 4, when the balance of seats in the Senate could change—Blumenthal is using the investigation to build political leverage.
For USDT: This is the most concentrated regulatory pressure Tether has faced this year. At the same time, the SEC is advancing stablecoin rules, and Circle is preparing to go public. The stablecoin regulatory landscape is being reshaped.
$USDT $BTC
#美参议员调查cantorfitzgerald与tether关系