President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Howard Lutnick, the Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and a prominent cryptocurrency advocate, to serve as the next United States Secretary of Commerce.
The announcement was made on November 19 through a statement from Trump, followed by Lutnick’s acknowledgment of the appointment on social media.
Details of The Appointment
“I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce,” Trump said in his statement.
The communication elaborated on Lutnick’s responsibilities, emphasizing that he would play an important role in advancing the president’s economic and trade agenda. This includes leading the administration’s tariff and trade policies and overseeing the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
The President-elect also praised his leadership as co-chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team, describing the system he developed as instrumental in assembling “the greatest 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 would join the best administration in U.S. history and work to unleash the nation’s full economic potential.
Bitcoin and Tether Advocacy
Trump’s transition team has been in discussions with crypto leaders and has shown interest in appointing crypto-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 advocated for Bitcoin and stablecoins.
In a previous Fox Business interview, the 63-year-old urged U.S. regulators to classify Bitcoin as a commodity, similar to gold or oil. He has also endorsed 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 U.S. Treasury holdings that support its USDT stablecoin.
Recently, the firm also launched a $2 billion Bitcoin financing initiative. In his closing statement at the 2024 Bitcoin conference, the CEO said the firm would welcome “Bitcoin into the financing family of the global financial market.”
