U.S. Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal on Thursday demanded that Cantor Fitzgerald submit materials on the full scope of its relationship with stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT). Blumenthal said Cantor’s stake in Tether is estimated at about 5%, with a current value of roughly $10 billion.
Key Points
Blumenthal requested information on 13 topics from Cantor Chairman Brandon Lutnick, setting an October 23 deadline for a response.
The letter requested materials on Cantor’s Tether-related revenue and compliance monitoring, as well as details of the profits the Lutnick family earned through their partnership.
Neither side offered immediate comment, and Senate Democrats, currently in the minority, cannot exercise subpoena power.
Blumenthal’s inquiry to Cantor
Senator Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), sent an official letter to Brandon Lutnick, Cantor’s chairman and the son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The letter listed 13 requests and set an October 23 deadline for a response.
In the letter, Senator Blumenthal noted that the value of Cantor’s stake in Tether had surged from $600 million to around $10 billion since President Donald Trump returned to office. He also said Cantor receives tens of millions of dollars in annual fees for holding and managing Tether’s assets, and that Howard Lutnick is understood to have received more than $250 million from Cantor over the same period, including $192 million in dividends.
Cantor and Tether did not immediately respond to media requests for comment on the matter.
In his inquiry, Senator Blumenthal sought an explanation of whether Cantor requires regular independent third-party audits of Tether and how Cantor monitors Tether’s compliance with U.S. sanctions on Iran. He also requested documents detailing the specific terms under which Howard Lutnick transferred his Cantor stake to his children, particularly how loans from Tether were used in the transfer.
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Tether investigation, political and market fallout
In his letter, Senator Blumenthal directly criticized Cantor’s dealings with Tether, saying they were “being conducted at the expense of U.S. national security.” He noted that while Tether claims to be legally based in El Salvador, most of its assets are actually held in the United States through Cantor, emphasizing that Cantor is “a window into this industry for Congress.”
However, Democrats are currently in the minority in the Senate, so Senator Blumenthal has no way to compel Cantor to respond. If Democrats regain a Senate majority after this November’s election, they could launch a compulsory investigation using subpoenas issued by the chairs of the relevant committees. Prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket were reportedly pricing the chances of Democrats regaining a Senate majority at 61% and 64%, respectively, as of that day.
Report on alleged sanctions evasion involving Iran
The letter is based on a report released by the PSI Democrats on September 28. The report found that 84% of the 846 wallets sanctioned or under consideration for sanctions over suspected links to Iran used almost exclusively USDT. Senator Blumenthal later requested formal investigations by the Treasury and Justice Departments, and Tether claimed that the amount of USDT frozen this year over links to Iran was nearing $550 million.
Cantor has held Tether’s reserves in custody since 2021 and, in 2024, secured the right to acquire a 5% stake in Tether.
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