Key Takeaways
- • Senator Richard Blumenthal, ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters Thursday to Tether and Nxum Group demanding details of payments Tether made to a firm co-founded by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines.
- • The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Nxum received large consulting payments from Tether while Hines was still advising President Trump on crypto policy, including on stablecoin issuers significant to Tether.
- • Blumenthal wrote that the terms of the relationship raise "alarming ethical and legal concerns," suggesting Tether was likely aware of the impropriety of paying a sitting White House official.
- • Hines now runs Tether's U.S. arm, and CoinDesk previously reported that Nxum was earning millions as the main campaign-advertising provider for a Tether-associated political action committee.
- • If Democrats regain the Senate, Blumenthal could chair the subcommittee with expanded subpoena power; prediction market Kalshi puts that chance at 69%.
Summary
Senator Richard Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has opened a new inquiry into Tether's financial relationships with Nxum Group, a consulting firm co-founded by Bo Hines, the former White House crypto adviser who now heads Tether's U.S. operations. Blumenthal sent letters on Thursday to Tether and to Nxum, which Hines started with his father and another partner. In his letter to Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino, Blumenthal wrote that "the highly unusual terms and nature of Tether's business relationship with both Nxum and Bo Hines raise alarming ethical and legal concerns," and argued that Tether was likely aware of the illegality and impropriety of paying a current White House official with a direct role in shaping crypto legislation important to Tether's business.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Nxum received large consulting payments from Tether while Hines was still advising President Donald Trump and his administration on crypto policy, including on stablecoin issuers significant to Tether. Blumenthal has requested details of those business arrangements. CoinDesk had earlier reported that Hines' company, which had little track record in politics, was earning millions of dollars as the main campaign-advertising provider for a political action committee associated with Tether.
Tether spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tether's Ardoino criticized the senator's work this week, saying Blumenthal ignored important information and shared his report with the press before giving the company a chance to respond.
The probe adds to Blumenthal's broader focus on crypto, which has included Trump's memecoin, crypto backers of the president's projects, World Liberty Financial, Binance, and Tether. He previously issued a report on Tether's financial connections to Iran and recently questioned Tether's relationship with its U.S. financial partner, Cantor Fitzgerald. Hines' family firm has also recently hired Harry Jung, another former White House crypto adviser, while the White House crypto office has been vacant since Patrick Witt, who had replaced Hines as executive director, departed.
Democrats remain in the Senate minority during Trump's current term, but their chances of retaking the chamber have improved in recent weeks, with Kalshi giving them a 69% probability. If Blumenthal returns to chair the investigations subcommittee, he would gain significantly greater powers to subpoena and set the agenda, and he has said crypto would be high on his list of priorities.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Nxum received large consulting payments from Tether while Hines was still advising President Donald Trump and his administration on crypto policy, including on stablecoin issuers significant to Tether. Blumenthal has requested details of those business arrangements. CoinDesk had earlier reported that Hines' company, which had little track record in politics, was earning millions of dollars as the main campaign-advertising provider for a political action committee associated with Tether.
Tether spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tether's Ardoino criticized the senator's work this week, saying Blumenthal ignored important information and shared his report with the press before giving the company a chance to respond.
The probe adds to Blumenthal's broader focus on crypto, which has included Trump's memecoin, crypto backers of the president's projects, World Liberty Financial, Binance, and Tether. He previously issued a report on Tether's financial connections to Iran and recently questioned Tether's relationship with its U.S. financial partner, Cantor Fitzgerald. Hines' family firm has also recently hired Harry Jung, another former White House crypto adviser, while the White House crypto office has been vacant since Patrick Witt, who had replaced Hines as executive director, departed.
Democrats remain in the Senate minority during Trump's current term, but their chances of retaking the chamber have improved in recent weeks, with Kalshi giving them a 69% probability. If Blumenthal returns to chair the investigations subcommittee, he would gain significantly greater powers to subpoena and set the agenda, and he has said crypto would be high on his list of priorities.
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