"U.S. Commerce Secretary Candidate Investment Firm Strengthens Cooperation with Cryptocurrency Companies"

Howard Rutnick's investment firm, named commerce secretary for the second Trump administration, is seeking to strengthen its cooperation with Tether, a virtual currency company suspected of involvement in money laundering, Bloomberg reports.

The news agency cited sources as saying investment firm Kentor Fitzgerald, represented by Rutnick, is discussing getting Tether's backing as it moves forward with a business to lend money to customers with Bitcoin as collateral.

Bloomberg reported that the loan, which is planned to be worth $2 billion in the early stages, is expected to expand to $10 billion and 14 trillion won in the future.

Earlier in July, CEO Rutnick announced a business model for lending funds to customers with Bitcoin as collateral at a Bitcoin conference.

Rutnick, a billionaire financial asset candidate, is known to be a virtual currency evangelist who turned Trump's negative mind on virtual currency.

Tether, whose assets are managed by Rutnick's Kenter Fitzgerald, is a company that issues stablecoins with exchange values pegged to dollars or euros.