Top Democrat among Senate investigators probes ties between Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether

"While Tether claims to operate out of El Salvador, the vast majority of its assets reside in the United States under your custodianship," the Connecticut lawmaker wrote. "As Congress considers how to best regulate digital assets, your partnership with Tether will provide important insights into the inner workings of this industry."

One of the letter's many requests: "Please describe all steps Cantor Fitzgerald has taken to investigate allegations that Tether’s stablecoin has been used in illicit finance and money laundering, including within Iran’s shadow banking network and for purposes of Russia sanctions evasion."

Neither Cantor Fitzgerald nor Tether immediately responded to requests for comment sent to their spokespeople.

While Blumenthal and other aggressive congressional critics of the crypto industry, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, have suffered from a limited authority as members of the minority party, securing a Democratic majority for next year would change that. If they win several more seats in that chamber, they could find themselves atop committees with subpoena power to legally compel information and testimony.

As it stands, the prediction markets suggest that Democrats have a better-then-even shot at returning to the majority. Kalshi has it at 61% and Polymarket at 64%. That number was closer to 50-50 several weeks ago. And the picture in the U.S. House of Representatives is even more positive for Democrats, with both platforms showing the likelihood of a majority shift at more than 90%.