Howard Lutnick's Trump Treasury Secretary Chances Rise On Polymarket After Musk, RFK Jr. Commendations

Polymarket bettors are once again hot on politics-related topics amid anticipation for President-elect Donald Trump's announcement regarding his U.S. Treasury Secretary pick, and Howard Lutnick's name is ringing louder on the decentralized market prediction platform.

As of late Sunday, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent remains in the lead on Polymarket's event contract for Trump's Treasury Secretary pick, but Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, is rising fast in the ranks.

Crypto Bettors Pit Bessent Against Lutnick

Polymarket bettors have Bessent's odds of being selected as the next U.S. Treasury Secretary at 40%, while second in line is Lutnick, whose chances have climbed from 7.0% when the event contract first came out to nearly 28% as of late Sunday.

Other potential picks can't even come close to Bessent and Lutnick's odds, including Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee (5%), and political commentator Larry Kudlow (3%).

Prominent Figures Commend Lutnick

Several influential figures in business and within the cryptocurrency space have come out in support of Lutnick as Trump continues to hold off on his announcement.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk encouraged other people to provide their insights so the incoming president can weigh his options, but for the Tesla CEO, "Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas Howard Lutnick will actually enact change," he wrote on X Sunday.

He went on to note that the "business-as-usual" model is "driving America bankrupt," and what the country needs now is "change one way or another."

Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also expressed faith in Lutnick. He first reiterated his long-time stance that "Bitcoin is the currency of freedom," adding that "Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnick."

Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey believes that Lutnick "has earned it," seemingly referring to increasing interest around the billionaire as a possible frontrunner in Trump's Treasury Secretary list.

Who is Howard Lutnick and if Chosen, Will He Be Good for Crypto?

Lutnick leads Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading financial services firm. He is known to be a visionary and came to prominence in the public eye after his story of hope and strength following the loss of 658 of his New York-based employees to the 9/11 tragedy.

Lutnick has previously spoken about Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap. He revealed that he has "hundreds of millions of dollars" in BTC holdings. He said he expects his holdings to reach billions.

During the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville earlier this year, Lutnick revealed that Cantor Fitzgerald and its partners "are a fan of Bitcoin." He also revealed that the financial services firm holds "a s***load" of the digital currency but stopped short of revealing the exact amount.

"My view is Bitcoin, like gold, should be free to trade everywhere in the world, and as the largest whole seller in the world, we are going to do everything in our power to make it so," he said at the time.

He also projected in September that banks will soon open up to Bitcoin transactions. He also expects a "new" Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair to pave the way for BTC to finally be recognized as "a financial asset" that will "be treated as such."