Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading financial services firm, shared a major new initiative in the cryptocurrency space.

At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, the company announced the launch of a $2 billion business focused on Bitcoin financing and lending.

Cantor Fitzgerald Announces Major Bitcoin Initiative

Founded in 1945, Cantor Fitzgerald is renowned for its work in investment banking, asset management, equity research, and more. The firm, known for its investment banking and asset management services, has been led by CEO and Chairman Howard W. Lutnick for over four decades. 

The company plans to offer leverage to Bitcoin holders, creating new financing opportunities that were previously unavailable in traditional markets. Its new venture will launch with an initial investment of $2 billion and aims to grow over time.

“Cantor Fitzgerald arranges and finances vast amounts of securities and commodities and, as strong supporters of Bitcoin, will now build an incredible platform to support Bitcoin investors’ financing need,” Lutnick stated.

Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin in 2024?

Cantor Fitzgerald, already active in the crypto space, has been working with USDT issuer Tether, a company often criticized and accused of money laundering and associations with unsavory groups. During his speech, Lutnick defended Tether, for which Cantor Fitzgerald acts as a custodian.

“We hold their money. USDT is fundamentally different than USDC because USDT holds treasuries, and primary dealer Cantor Fitzgerald can liquidate those treasuries and meet your redemptions without fail,” he said.

Lutnick contrasted USDT with USDC, referring to the 2023 incident where Circle had $3.3 billion of reserves uninsured at Silicon Valley Bank, which led to a temporary stablecoin depeg.

Read more: 7 Best Crypto Exchanges in the USA for Bitcoin (BTC) Trading

The Bitcoin 2024 conference proved to be rich in high-profile announcements. Despite some skepticism about certain grandiose claims, crypto community views Wall Street’s interest in Bitcoin as a bullish factor.

“It is wild to see Wall Street CEOs doing their best to impress bitcoiners. Here is the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO saying the firm owns ‘a sh*t load of bitcoin’,” influential crypto investor Anthony Pompliano wrote.