Senator Blumenthal asks Cantor Fitzgerald for documents on its ties to Tether

What the senator is asking for

Blumenthal wants to understand how Cantor Fitzgerald oversaw Tether's banking and sanctions compliance. He requested documents on the partnership and all of Howard Lutnick's communications concerning Tether, including those made after he left Cantor to become Commerce Secretary.

It matters what kind of letter this is. It is a request from a senator in the minority party, not a subpoena or a formal subcommittee investigation: he cannot force the firm to answer. According to reporters, Cantor and Tether did not immediately comment.

How much money is involved

According to the senator, Cantor acquired 5% of Tether in 2024, and the firm reportedly holds tens of billions of dollars in US Treasury bills that back USDT. The letter says the stake has since grown in value from about $600 million to $10 billion. Howard Lutnick, Blumenthal claims, made more than $250 million over that time, including a $192 million distribution from the firm.

Blumenthal links the relationship to earlier allegations against Tether: that USDT was used for money laundering and sanctions evasion tied to Iran and Russia. In his view, the lucrative Tether business may also raise national security concerns.

Not the first request

Lutnick's ties to Tether have drawn questions from Democrats before. In January 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren raised them during his confirmation as Commerce Secretary. In April 2026, Warren and Ron Wyden asked about a Tether loan to a Lutnick family trust, made the day after the secretary sold his Cantor stake to his children. The Commerce Department said at the time that Lutnick had fully complied with his ethics agreement.

Tether has another problem this week. Payments company Conduit sued the issuer in the Southern District of New York, alleging that Tether has unlawfully kept $2.76 million in USDT frozen in its wallet since September 2025, forcing the company to lay off staff.

What it means for USDT holders

The senator's letter changes nothing about how USDT works: coins move and trade as before. But the story is a reminder of how this stablecoin is built. USDT is issued by a single company, which holds the reserves through partners and can freeze coins at any address. Questions about reserves, political ties and freezes are the risks of exactly this model.

That leads to simple takeaways for anyone holding a meaningful amount in USDT:

1. Do not keep everything in one stablecoin. Part of it can move to USDC, issued by a different company and authorized under the EU's MiCA rules. We compared the two in USDT vs USDC: which stablecoin to choose.
2. Keep coins in your own wallet. On an exchange, the issuer risk comes on top of the platform risk. You can buy or swap coins without an account through a crypto exchange without sign-up that sends them straight to your address.
3. Remember there are alternatives to stablecoins. If you hold dollars as savings rather than for payments, part of it can sit in bitcoin: nobody can freeze it at your address.

How to swap USDT without registration

VertEXchange needs no account, email or phone number. You pick a pair, for example to exchange USDT TRC20 to USDC ERC20, paste your wallet address and see the rate and the amount you will receive before you send anything. Coins arrive straight at your address: VertEXchange does not hold them.

• A fixed rate is held for about 15 minutes, so the amount will not drift while your transfer confirms.
• You can set a refund address: coins go back there if the exchange does not go through.
• Personal fields of an operation are deleted 24 hours after it completes, and your exchange history stays only in your browser.
• Support chat is on every page and works by exchange code.

Want to keep savings in bitcoin? You can buy BTC with USDT TRC20 straight to your own wallet.

FAQ

Who is Richard Blumenthal?

A US senator from Connecticut and the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. On October 8, 2026, he sent a letter to the chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald.

Is this an official investigation?

No. It is a request from a minority-party senator, not a subcommittee subpoena. He cannot compel Cantor to respond.

How are Cantor Fitzgerald and Tether connected?

According to the senator, Cantor has owned 5% of Tether since 2024 and reportedly holds the US Treasury bills that back USDT. Until 2025 the firm was led by current Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Does this threaten USDT?

Not right now: the letter does not change how the stablecoin works. But questions about reserves and freezes are a standing risk of a centralized issuer, so it makes sense to spread large amounts.

Can Tether freeze my USDT?

Technically yes: the issuer can block coins at any address. Conduit, for example, is suing Tether over $2.76 million frozen since September 2025.