Key dealers
- Howard Lutnick confirmed as US trade secretary with a 51-45 Senate vote.
- Lutnick is a Bitcoin advocate with plans to implement Trump’s customs policy.
Howard Lutnick, former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and a Bitcoin advocate, won the Senate’s confirmation as a trade secretary in a 51-45 vote on Tuesday and placed him to lead President Donald Trump’s trading agenda at the Ministry of Commerce.
As a trade secretary, Lutnick will monitor 50,000 employees responsible for financial statistics, census operations and weather reporting. He is expected to focus on implementing Trump’s import tax age together with trading negotiators nominated Jamieson Greer.
During his confirmation negotiation, Lutnick dismissed concerns about the inflation effect of the customs as “nonsense” and supported the implementation of broad customs “land for land” to press nations to reduce barriers to US exports.
The confirmation comes when Trump announced plans for “mutual” tariffs that would match other countries’ higher tax rates on US goods. The administration has already introduced 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and increased taxes on foreign steel and aluminum, while threatening 25% tariffs in Canadian and Mexican goods, currently delayed to March 4.
Lutnick led Cantor Fitzgerald through his recovery after September 11, 2001, attacks, which claimed the life of 658 of the company’s employees, including his brother. He sits on the Board of National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
A supporter of bitcoin and stablecoins
Lutnick is a strong Proponents of bitcoin. The 63-year-old businessman have consistently expressed admiration for Bitcoin, compares it to gold and advocates for its free global trade without restrictions.
“Bitcoin is like gold and should be free trade everywhere,” Lutnick said at a Bitcoin conference earlier this year. “We will do everything to do it that way.”
Lutnick sees Bitcoin as a button and valuable asset. Kantor Fitzgerald, under his leadership, launched initiative as a financing operation of $ 2 billion, part of Lutnick’s commitment to integrate Cryptocurrency into traditional financing. In a CNBC podcast last year, Lutnick expressed its specific support for Bitcoin and stated that other coins “just is not one thing.”
He has criticized regulatory ambiguity in the United States regarding digital assets and advocates for clear policy to promote mainstream adoption of bitcoin by financial institutions.
Lutnick also supports other crypto innovations, such as USDT and USDC Stablecoins.
Kantor Fitzgerald manages Tother’s US Treasury Holdings, which supports its USDT Stablecoin and recently launched a $ 2 billion financing operation. Last year, the company acquired a proportion of 5% in tether Worth about $ 600 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
After his confirmation, Lutnick resigned As chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, divests his business holdings to fulfill the government’s ethical demands.
