In brief
- Trump’s Fed chair pick Kevin Warsh advised a Tether-linked bank.
- Anchorage Digital was tapped to issue Tether’s new USAT stablecoin.
- Anchorage’s CEO said Warsh served as an advisor for years.
Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Reserve, helped shape Anchorage Digital, a key player in Tether’s efforts to gain a regulated foothold in U.S. markets.
Prior to being tapped by Trump for the role on Friday, Warsh served as an advisor to Anchorage Digital for years. The American financier and bank executive was listed on the company’s website as an advisor, but he was removed sometime after Jan. 16, per the Internet Archive.
On Friday, Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley said on X that he “couldn’t be more excited” about Warsh’s nomination, noting that he “has been an advisor to Anchorage since the very beginning.”
Anchorage Digital serves as the issuer of Tether’s USAT. When the stablecoin was launched last week, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino declared that it would be “made in America,” representing its first product to comply with stablecoin regulation passed into law this summer.
If Warsh was still an advisor to Anchorage, it would establish a link between him and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Prior to his own nomination, Lutnick led Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment bank that custodies a portion of Tether’s reserves for USDT.
“We are grateful to Kevin Warsh for providing counsel to Anchorage Digital for many years, and wish him the best throughout the confirmation processes as he is a phenomenal candidate,” an Anchorage spokesperson told Decrypt.
Cantor’s role in safeguarding assets that back the $185 billion stablecoin has been known for years, but Tether signaled last week that the Wall Street giant would also serve as USAT’s designated reserve custodian, as well as its preferred primary dealer.
Tether’s flagship stablecoin is partially backed by assets including Bitcoin and gold, which doesn’t align with U.S. requirements for stablecoin issuers under the new regulation. However, the firm based in El Salvador has said that USAT will abide by the framework, using a bank as infrastructure that Trump’s nominee for Fed chair has had a business relationship with.
Decrypt has reached out to Tether for comment.
Trump’s nomination of Warsh comes at a time where there is heightened fear about the central bank’s continued independence. Throughout his second term, Trump has pressured current Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, and the tension reached a breaking point last month with the revelation of a criminal investigation from the Department of Justice into Powell.
Anchorage Digital was established in 2017. Years later, it became the first crypto bank to receive a federal charter in the U.S., allowing it to serve as a regulated bridge between traditional banking systems and digital assets.
Last May, Cantor Fitzgerald said that Lutnick had finalized a major divestiture of his interests in Cantor Fitzgerald and two subsidiaries to comply with government ethics agreements. His ownership interests in Cantor were transferred to trusts for the benefit of his children.
Cantor declined to comment when reached by Decrypt.
On Saturday, Trump expressed confidence that Warsh will be confirmed in the U.S. Senate, per Reuters. As a “high-quality person,” Trump said Warsh could win support among some Democrats, and that the American financier “should have no trouble getting through.”
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Source: https://decrypt.co/356673/link-between-trump-fed-pick-tether-made-america-stablecoin
