- Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick is a Tether booster.
- The total value of Tether is now $127 billion.
- It far outstrips USDC, its closest rival.
Crypto users are flooding into the stablecoin Tether after former president Donald Trump recaptured the White House.
Since polls closed on November 6, its total value has jumped almost 6% to more than $127 billion, according to DefiLlama.
The nine-day jump is Tether’s largest since late March 2023, according to an analysis from DL News.
Tether’s closest rival among stablecoins, USDC, has jumped about 4% post the election to approach $37 billion in total value.
The growth in Tether’s total value piggybacks off of the broader crypto craze.
Following Trump’s victory, Bitcoin has surged almost 30% to now just under $90,000. The crypto market reached an all-time high of more than $3.1 trillion. Even memecoins are showing soaring gains.
Who is Howard Lutnick?
Tether’s upswing also mirrors the rise of one of its most vocal backers on Wall Street: Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York financial services firm.
Cantor Fitzgerald manages US Treasury bonds for Tether, and Lutnick has repeatedly vouched for the stablecoin giant, which has been scrutinised for years for its refusal to release a full audit of its reserves.
Lutnick is also a major fundraiser for Trump and co-chair of the former president’s transition team.
Now that Trump is set to assume power in January, Lutnick is poised to snatch a high-powered seat in the 47th president’s cabinet.
Lutnick is on the shortlist to be Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, according to the Wall Street Journal. A Polymarket prediction market gives him a 26% chance of clinching the nomination.
However, in what may present the Wall Street veteran with a conflict of interest, the Treasury is pursuing a criminal investigation into Tether, according to the Journal.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is down 1.4% over the past 24 hours to trade at $89,766.
- Ethereum is down 3% to trade at $3,093.
What we are reading
- Crypto investors fear they’ve lost millions as SEC probes fund making 200% returns ― DL News
- The Trump-Connected Brad Bondi Is a New SEC Chair Contender and Pro-Crypto ― Unchained
- Polymarket raided by FBI ― Milk Road
- Milk Road PRO Portfolio Update #1 — Milk Road
- Pnut memecoin trader turns $17 into $3 million. Here’s how they did it — DL News
Ben Weiss is DL News’ Dubai Correspondent. Got a tip? Email at bweiss@dlnews.com.