Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Verifies Tether's Reserves

Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Brandon Lutnick revealed that he personally verified Tether’s reserves during the early stages of the firm's relationship with the stablecoin giant. This disclosure was made during his speech at Consensus 2025 in Toronto. Lutnick, who is 27 years old, addressed the widespread rumors that circulated in the early days of the relationship, which suggested that Tether did not possess the assets it claimed to have. These rumors were fueled by speculation that Tether was not fully backed by reserves.

In 2019, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged that Tether had a nearly $1 billion hole in its books. However, these allegations were later settled with Tether and its sister firm, Bitfinex. Lutnick emphasized that he personally checked a significant portion of Tether’s reserves, which helped to dispel many of these rumors. Tether has consistently maintained that it has been fully backed, at least since its settlement with New York.

Lutnick was appointed as the chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald in February. Cantor Fitzgerald is the private parent company that controls the investment bank of the same name, brokerage BCG Group, and commercial real estate company Newmark Group. His appointment came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump named his father, Howard Lutnick, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, as the U.S. Commerce secretary.

Prior to his current role, Lutnick held another executive position within the firm. He addressed and denied reports that he had interned with Tether in Lugano, Switzerland, in 2023. Lutnick clarified that while he did not intern with Tether, he gained valuable insights into the crypto industry from his interactions with the Tether team. He described these interactions as having "orange-pilled" him, a term often used in the crypto community to signify a shift in perspective towards embracing cryptocurrencies.