Warren, Wyden Seek Answers on Tether Loan to Lutnick Trust

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent a letter this week to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting information about a reported loan from stablecoin issuer Tether to a trust that benefits Lutnick’s children. The senators asked whether the loan was linked to Lutnick’s transfer of his Cantor Fitzgerald stake to family trusts.

The letter seeks to establish whether Tether provided funds that allowed Lutnick’s children to acquire his ownership in Cantor Fitzgerald and whether Tether took a security interest in those assets. Lutnick left his role leading Cantor Fitzgerald to become commerce secretary in February 2025. His sons now run the firm. Cantor Fitzgerald began serving as a custodian for Tether’s reserves in 2021, creating a commercial relationship between the two entities.

Reports indicate one of the trusts that received Lutnick’s ownership stake borrowed an undisclosed amount from Tether. Federal ethics rules require presidential appointees to divest or sell certain assets to avoid conflicts of interest. The senators wrote that placing assets in family trusts can undermine that process and said the timing of the reported loan and the trust transfers raises conflict-of-interest concerns that merit disclosure from both Tether and the Commerce Department.

The letter states: “This document raises questions about whether Tether may have helped provide Secretary Lutnick’s children with the capital needed to purchase their father’s stake in Cantor Fitzgerald, and in return secured an interest in his children’s assets. If true, that would be a startling revelation.” The senators also noted Lutnick’s prior relationship with Tether and the lobbying the company conducted around the GENIUS Act.

Warren and Wyden asked Tether and the Commerce Department for documents and explanations, including the loan terms, the parties involved, any communications between Tether and Lutnick or his representatives, whether the loan was secured by an interest in the trust’s assets and whether any concessions were provided to Tether related to the GENIUS Act.

The letter references Tether’s regulatory history. Regulators reached a settlement with the company in 2021 over claims about its reserve disclosures, and federal authorities considered sanctions or further inquiries into the company as recently as 2024. Tether has told officials it cooperates with law enforcement and has assisted in recovering coins tied to scams and international crime.

The inquiry comes as the Senate Banking Committee, where Warren is a senior Democrat, continues work on digital asset market structure legislation and oversight of industry ties. A Commerce Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Tether had not provided a response by publication.