Swan Bitcoin has filed an ex parte application in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking authorization to subpoena Cantor Fitzgerald and its former CEO, now US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as part of an escalating dispute over a failed Bitcoin mining joint venture with Tether called 2040 Energy. The request is made under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to obtain discovery (documents and testimony) for use in planned foreign proceedings against Tether-appointed directors of 2040 Energy, including Tether’s top leadership. According to Swan’s filing, 2040 Energy was structured as a joint venture in which Tether provided funding while Swan operated the Bitcoin mining business, but the relationship broke down in mid‑2024. Swan alleges that then‑CIO Raphael Zagury and Tether’s now‑CIO Zachary Lyons secretly coordinated with Tether to sideline Swan: internal planning notes allegedly describe a coordinated mass resignation of Swan staff with “legal cover from Tether,” followed by the download of “thousands” of confidential documents and the creation of a new entity, Proton/Proton Management, that Swan says replaced Swan in Tether’s mining plans. On August 8, 2024, thirteen Swan employees reportedly resigned within hours, and in December 2024, Tether‑appointed directors allegedly approved a related‑party sale of 2040 Energy’s mining assets to a Tether subsidiary at a price Swan claims was far below fair value. Former employees and Proton dispute Swan’s characterization, arguing 2040 Energy was fully funded by Tether and did not belong to Swan, and they deny wrongdoing. Cantor Fitzgerald and Lutnick are drawn into the case because Swan says they were closely connected to key events before and after the breakup of the venture. Swan CEO Cory Klippsten states that weeks before the mass resignations, Tether’s Giancarlo Devasini introduced him to Lutnick to discuss a potential Swan IPO, during which Swan shared confidential mining and IPO materials with Cantor. Swan’s filing further cites Klippsten’s notes of conversations in which Devasini allegedly said that Lutnick, while still a private citizen, claimed he had “managed to kill every bill about stablecoins” in Congress and was “working full time for Tether,” and that Cantor’s advisory relationships and mining work may give it relevant insight into the disputed sale of 2040 Energy’s assets and Tether’s subsequent arrangements. Tether has publicly denied Swan’s allegations of misconduct. The court’s decision on Swan’s § 1782 application will determine whether Swan can compel Cantor and Lutnick to produce communications and records, potentially shedding light not only on the internal dispute over 2040 Energy but also on the broader financial and political links among Tether, Cantor Fitzgerald, and key actors in US crypto policy. "entities":["Swan Bitcoin","2040 Energy","Tether","Cantor Fitzgerald","Howard Lutnick","U.S. Department of Commerce","Cory Klippsten","Raphael Zagury","Zachary Lyons","Proton / Proton Management","Bitfinex","Jean‑Louis (JL) van der Velde","Giancarlo Devasini","Paolo Ardoino","Fellowship PAC","Jesse Spiro"]}`

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

More coverage

Explore the topic

Explore the full feed

Comments

Up nextMichael Saylor unveils a 38-book curriculum for leaders, arguing that history, technology, capital, energy and Bitcoin are essential to building stronger civilizations