Tether Lobbies to Shape U.S. Stablecoin Rules Despite Past Fraud Settlement

In April 2025, Tether, issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT and a company that previously paid a large settlement over misleading reserve claims, emerged as an aggressive behind-the-scenes influencer of pending U.S. stablecoin legislation, including the GENIUS Act. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a member of Trump's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, has repeatedly promoted stablecoins as a strategic priority, and the working group met with industry officials over a thousand times.

Tether's push coincided with separate reporting on a loan Tether-linked entities made connected to Lutnick's family business dealings, drawing scrutiny from congressional Democrats over potential conflicts of interest.

Critics noted the irony of a company previously scrutinized for misleading statements about its reserves and tied to sanctions and anti-money-laundering concerns now helping draft the rules meant to govern its own industry, reflecting broader worries about regulatory capture in Trump-era crypto policy.