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, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The discovery request, filed under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, would support foreign proceedings against Tether-appointed directors of 2040 Energy, Swan’s joint mining venture with Tether. Those directors include Tether Chairman Giancarlo Devasini and Bitfinex CEO JL van der Velde.
What Led to the Subpoena
Swan and Tether established 2040 Energy as a joint venture for mining Bitcoin (BTC). Tether provided funding while Swan handled operations. However, in mid-2024, the partnership unraveled in dramatic fashion.
According to Swan’s filing, then-CIO Raphael Zagury and Tether’s now-CIO Zachary Lyons secretly conspired with the stablecoin issuer to dismantle Swan’s role in the joint venture.
Planning notes found on Swan’s corporate servers allegedly detailed a coordinated mass resignation to be carried out with what the filing calls legal cover from Tether.
On August 8, 2024, thirteen Swan employees resigned within hours. Swan claims thousands of confidential documents were downloaded from its systems. Within days, Tether replaced Swan with Proton Management, a new entity staffed by the same defecting employees.
Swan CEO Cory Klippsten was subsequently 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 calls a significant undervalue.
Cantor and Lutnick’s Role
The subpoena targets Cantor Fitzgerald and Lutnick because of their alleged proximity to the events. Swan’s filing states that in the weeks before the mass resignations, Devasini introduced Klippsten to Lutnick to discuss a planned Swan IPO.
Swan then shared confidential mining data and IPO materials with Cantor.
After the mass resignations, Cantor broke off contact with Swan without explanation, according to the filing.
Cantor subsequently served as an investment banker on a series of Tether-related transactions. These included 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.
Zagury and Lyons, both named in the filing, now serve as Tether-appointed directors at Twenty One Capital. Jack Mallers leads Twenty One as CEO.
Deeper Financial Ties Surface
The filing also surfaces Klippsten’s contemporaneous notes from conversations with Devasini. According to those 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 public UCC filing from October 2025 shows 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.
“Rain and hellfire needs to start,” Raphael Zagury’s planning notes (filing)
The subpoena adds another layer to an already sprawling legal dispute between Swan and Tether. Tether has previously denied 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 the fallout.
