Senator probes Tether’s reported $6 million payments to ex-White House crypto adviser’s firm

Tether faces US Senate scrutiny over multimillion-dollar payments to a consulting firm co-owned by a former White House crypto adviser.

On Oct. 22, Senator Richard Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, demanded records on the stablecoin issuer's reported payments to Nxum, a consulting firm co-founded by Bo Hines, who helped develop the Trump administration's cryptocurrency policies.

The inquiry follows reports that Tether sent more than $6 million to Nxum while Hines retained an ownership stake in the business and worked on legislation affecting the company's operations. Hines subsequently left the White House and became chief executive of Tether's US stablecoin business.

In his letter to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, Blumenthal wrote:

Tether’s alleged multimillion-dollar payment to a firm controlled by the White House official primarily responsible for cryptocurrency policy implicates federal ethics, anticorruption, and lobbying laws.

The controversy centers on the GENIUS Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in July 2025 to establish a federal regulatory framework for dollar-backed stablecoins.

According to Blumenthal's letter, which cited The Wall Street Journal, Tether agreed in May 2025 to pay Nxum $415,000 per month for strategic lobbying, public relations, and other advisory services.

At the time, Hines served as executive director of the White House's digital asset advisory council and retained a one-third ownership interest in Nxum.

The senator alleged that Hines joined discussions about the legislation while his business partners coordinated lobbying with Tether executives.

Blumenthal also accused Hines of advocating changes to the GENIUS Act that would particularly benefit Tether, including provisions allowing foreign stablecoin issuers additional time to meet US regulatory requirements.

Those accommodations carried considerable commercial significance for Tether because its flagship USDT stablecoin operates through an offshore issuance structure.