U.S. President-elect Donald Trump wants Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick — a vocal cryptocurrency enthusiast who has been stablecoin giant Tether's (USDT) Wall Street banker for years — to serve as his Commerce Secretary, not Treasury Secretary, Punchbowl News and The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Lutnick was one of many vying for the powerful Treasury Secretary role, but reports over the past few days suggested his stock had fallen in Trump's eyes. Tuesday's reporting that he would be nominated to the Commerce role instead supports that, despite Lutnick's role as part of Trump's transition team.

Lutnick's firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, is a stalwart in finance, known particularly for its influential role in the bond market. That includes serving as a primary dealer, an exclusive group of firms allowed to trade directly with the Federal Reserve. It has also dabbled in crypto. Since 2021, it has helped Tether manage the giant stockpile of U.S. Treasuries that back its USDT stablecoin. Cantor Fitzgerald also recently announced a bitcoin financing business — aimed at providing leverage to bitcoin investors — with $2 billion of initial funding.