Swan Bitcoin has filed a motion in the Southern District of New York to subpoena U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his former firm Cantor Fitzgerald, seeking evidence for foreign legal proceedings against three Tether executives over the alleged destruction of a joint Bitcoin mining venture.
The ex parte application, filed on March 23, 2026, targets Lutnick in his capacity as former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. Swan Bitcoin alleges that Lutnick holds information material to its case against Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, controlling shareholder Giancarlo Devasini, and Bitfinex CEO Jean-Louis van der Velde.
At the center of the dispute is a corporate breakup involving 2040 Energy, a joint mining venture created in July 2023 between Swan Bitcoin and Tether subsidiary Zettahash. Swan claims the venture was sabotaged from within, its employees poached, and its assets sold at an undervalued price to a Tether-controlled entity.
Swan Bitcoin Files Motion to Subpoena Howard Lutnick
Swan’s filing details a sequence of events it describes as a coordinated scheme. On August 8, 2024, thirteen Swan employees resigned within hours in what company filings call the “rain and hellfire plan.” The departing staff allegedly downloaded thousands of confidential documents on their way out.
Former Swan CIO Raphael Zagury and former business development head Michael Holmes are accused of orchestrating the mass exodus. The former employees immediately launched Proton Management, a rival mining firm that then received Tether’s business as replacement operator, according to court filings cited by CoinTelegraph.
Tether sent Swan a “Notice of Default” in August 2024 and appointed Proton Management as the replacement operator for the mining infrastructure. In December 2024, Tether-appointed directors allegedly approved a sale of 2040 Energy’s mining assets to a Tether subsidiary at what Swan contends was a deliberately undervalued price.
Swan had planned an IPO and Series C funding round, both of which were postponed after the mining division collapsed.
Company Profile
$20M
Swan Bitcoin’s Series A raise (2021), underscoring the firm’s institutional ambitions and the financial stakes now at the center of its legal push for Lutnick’s testimony.
Source: Crunchbase
Why Swan Bitcoin Wants Lutnick’s Testimony
Lutnick, who served as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald before his appointment as U.S. Commerce Secretary under the Trump administration, has longstanding ties to Tether. Cantor Fitzgerald has acted as a custodian for portions of Tether’s reserves, which include over 83,000 BTC, one of the largest institutional Bitcoin positions globally.
On-Chain Context
83,000+ BTC
Tether’s reported Bitcoin reserves, partially custodied by Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm led by Howard Lutnick until his appointment as U.S. Commerce Secretary.
Source: Tether Transparency Report
Swan CEO Cory Klippsten met Lutnick in June 2024, introduced by Tether’s Devasini, to discuss a prospective Swan IPO. Swan shared confidential mining data and IPO materials with Cantor Fitzgerald during that meeting. After the mass resignations in August 2024, Cantor Fitzgerald ceased all contact with Swan without explanation.
Swan’s filing also includes an explosive allegation drawn from Klippsten’s contemporaneous notes. According to those notes, Devasini told Klippsten that Lutnick claimed to have “managed to kill every bill about stablecoins” in Congress and was “working full time for Tether” while still a private citizen. These claims have not been independently corroborated and are attributed solely to Klippsten’s account of a conversation with Devasini.
Swan believes Cantor Fitzgerald’s records could reveal whether Lutnick or his firm had advance knowledge of the plan to dismantle the mining venture, and whether financial relationships between Cantor and Tether influenced the sequence of events.
What This Case Signals for Crypto Firms and Regulators
A Bitcoin company seeking to compel testimony from a sitting U.S. Cabinet member is rare. The subpoena motion places Lutnick’s pre-government ties to Tether under judicial scrutiny at a moment when digital asset regulation remains in flux in Washington.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has separately probed Lutnick over his ties to Tether. The filing arrives amid active Congressional debate over stablecoin regulation, including the GENIUS Act and related proposals. Any evidence that a sitting cabinet secretary had undisclosed financial or advisory ties to Tether could provoke formal Congressional oversight inquiries.
The case also highlights a growing trend: crypto firms using aggressive litigation strategies to protect their business interests against larger counterparties. Swan is not merely suing a competitor; it is attempting to use U.S. discovery mechanisms to build a case in foreign courts against executives of one of the most powerful companies in crypto.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Swan Bitcoin’s subpoena targets a sitting Cabinet member, a rare legal maneuver that elevates a corporate mining dispute into a matter of public interest.
- Lutnick’s Cantor Fitzgerald background gives him unique knowledge of crypto-adjacent finance, particularly Tether’s reserve management and custody arrangements.
- The outcome could shape how Bitcoin firms use litigation to protect their interests against well-resourced adversaries, and whether U.S. courts will facilitate discovery against government officials for foreign proceedings.
The SDNY court must now decide whether to grant Swan’s ex parte application. If approved, Cantor Fitzgerald and Lutnick would be compelled to produce documents and potentially testimony relevant to the foreign litigation against Ardoino, Devasini, and van der Velde. Neither Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald, nor Tether have publicly commented on the filing.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
