Swan vs. Tether: A Farce of Subpoenas, Secrets, and Stablecoin Shenanigans!

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Ah, behold the latest spectacle in the grand theater of financial folly! Swan Bitcoin, with a flourish of legal parchment, hath filed an ex parte application in the Southern District of New York, seeking leave to subpoena the esteemed Cantor Fitzgerald and its former maestro, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. A tale of intrigue, thou sayest?

This discovery request, cloaked in the mantle of 28 U.S.C. § 1782, doth aim to bolster foreign proceedings against the Tether-appointed directors of 2040 Energy, a joint mining venture betwixt Swan and Tether. Among these directors, we find the illustrious Tether Chairman Giancarlo Devasini and Bitfinex CEO JL van der Velde, figures of no small repute.

The Unraveling of a Partnership

Swan and Tether, once united in the noble pursuit of Bitcoin mining, established 2040 Energy as their joint venture. Tether, ever the generous patron, provided the coin, while Swan, with diligence, managed operations. Yet, in the fickle year of 2024, this alliance didst crumble in a manner most dramatic.

According to Swan’s filing, the erstwhile CIO Raphael Zagury and Tether’s current CIO Zachary Lyons didst conspire in secrecy with the stablecoin issuer to unravel Swan’s role in the venture. Planning notes, discovered on Swan’s corporate servers, allegedly reveal a plot of mass resignation, executed with what the filing doth call “legal cover” from Tether.

On the fateful day of August 8, 2024, thirteen Swan employees resigned in swift succession. Swan doth claim that thousands of confidential documents were pilfered from its systems. Within days, Tether replaced Swan with Proton Management, a new entity staffed by the very same defectors. A comedy of errors, thou sayest?

Swan’s CEO Cory Klippsten was thenceforth removed as CEO of 2040 Energy. By December 2024, Tether-appointed directors approved a related-party sale of 2040 Energy’s mining assets to a Tether subsidiary, at what Swan doth call a “significant undervalue.” A bargain, indeed, but for whom?

Lutnick on the Hot Seat, Yet Again

This week Swan Bitcoin filed an ex parte application in the Southern District of New York seeking court authorization to subpoena Cantor Fitzgerald and its former CEO, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick @HowardLutnick, under 28 U.S.C. § 1782.…

– Cory 🦢 Real Bitcoin @ Swan.com (@CorySwan) March 25, 2026

Cantor and Lutnick’s Role in This Farce

The subpoena doth target Cantor Fitzgerald and Lutnick due to their alleged proximity to these events. Swan’s filing proclaimeth that in the weeks preceding the mass resignations, Devasini introduced Klippsten to Lutnick to discuss a planned Swan IPO. Swan, in good faith, shared confidential mining data and IPO materials with Cantor.

Yet, after the resignations, Cantor didst sever all contact with Swan without explanation, according to the filing. Cantor then served as an investment banker on a series of Tether-related transactions, including acting as placement agent for Tether’s investment in Rumble and providing the SPAC vehicle for Twenty One Capital ($XXI), the Bitcoin treasury company now listed on the NYSE. A web of connections, indeed!

Zagury and Lyons, both named in the filing, now serve as Tether-appointed directors at Twenty One Capital. Jack Mallers, with his customary flair, leads Twenty One as CEO.

Deeper Financial Ties Unveiled

The filing also revealeth Klippsten’s contemporaneous notes from conversations with Devasini. According to these notes, Devasini told Klippsten that Lutnick, then a private citizen, claimed to have worked to block every stablecoin bill in Congress and was effectively working full time for Tether. A man of many talents, it would seem!

A public UCC filing from October 2025 showeth Tether as collateral agent for all assets of Dynasty Trust A, the Lutnick family trust that holds the majority ownership stake in Cantor. Bloomberg recently reported that the trust borrowed an undisclosed sum from Tether to finance its acquisition of Lutnick’s ownership stake when he divested to comply with federal ethics rules. A loan, thou sayest? Or a favor returned?

“Rain and hellfire needs to start,” Raphael Zagury’s planning notes (filing)

This subpoena addeth another layer to an already sprawling legal dispute between Swan and Tether. Tether, with its customary aplomb, hath denied any wrongdoing. A ruling on the application could determine whether Swan gains access to Cantor’s communications with Tether and its affiliates, potentially exposing new details about the financial relationships behind this fallout. A drama fit for the stage, wouldst thou not agree?

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2026-03-26 08:26