Key Takeaways
- • According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, Nxum, a consulting firm co-owned by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines, earned $6.3 million under a deal with Tether to develop a "strategic brand and public affairs plan."
- • Payments to Nxum began while Hines, then 29, was leading the White House push for the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law signed by President Trump in July 2025.
- • Hines kept a one-third ownership stake in Nxum after joining the administration, and Tether hired him the month after he left government to lead its new U.S. division.
- • A draft Tether plan proposed that Nxum oversee "strategic lobbying" and a public relations campaign, though the final contract omitted lobbying references and was signed through an intermediary agency.
- • The episode adds to scrutiny of conflicts of interest between the Trump administration's crypto policy and the private business interests of its advisers and the president's family.
Summary
A Wall Street Journal investigation, as reported by Fortune, found that Nxum, a consulting firm cofounded in 2022 by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines, received $6.3 million under a deal with Tether, the largest company in the stablecoin industry. The contract covered development of a "strategic brand and public affairs plan" for the El Salvador-based issuer. Payments began while Hines, then 29, was leading the White House effort to pass the GENIUS Act, a law regulating dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Hines reportedly stepped back from managing Nxum when he joined the administration but retained his one-third ownership stake. He left the White House weeks after Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Tether hired him the following month to lead its new U.S. division, and the company continued paying Nxum during that period, according to the Journal.
Nxum was cofounded by Hines, his father Todd Hines, and marketing executive Gary Dennis, with equal stakes. The firm presented itself as spanning media, consulting and investments, and its website reportedly listed only one other employee, chief investment officer Nav Singh, who was sentenced in 2018 to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud in a bribery case involving New York's state pension fund. Nxum's prior political work included helping create the Trump-themed memecoin Restore the Republic and contributing $1 million in billboard ads to MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump.
According to the Journal, the Tether relationship began in April 2025, when marketing entrepreneur Peter Vincer arranged a meeting between Todd Hines, Dennis and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino in New York. A draft "Tether Comprehensive Brand Plan" proposed that Nxum oversee "strategic lobbying and a full scale public relations and media awareness campaign." The final agreement omitted lobbying references and was signed by Vincer's agency, Notorious, as an intermediary for Nxum, though a planning document stated that "Nxum will engage all necessary parties and lead the entire process."
The disclosure comes amid broader scrutiny of the Trump family's crypto interests, including the memecoin and World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance platform. Fortune reported in July that the president's latest financial disclosure showed $1.4 billion in crypto-related wealth, largely tied to those ventures.
Hines reportedly stepped back from managing Nxum when he joined the administration but retained his one-third ownership stake. He left the White House weeks after Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Tether hired him the following month to lead its new U.S. division, and the company continued paying Nxum during that period, according to the Journal.
Nxum was cofounded by Hines, his father Todd Hines, and marketing executive Gary Dennis, with equal stakes. The firm presented itself as spanning media, consulting and investments, and its website reportedly listed only one other employee, chief investment officer Nav Singh, who was sentenced in 2018 to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud in a bribery case involving New York's state pension fund. Nxum's prior political work included helping create the Trump-themed memecoin Restore the Republic and contributing $1 million in billboard ads to MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump.
According to the Journal, the Tether relationship began in April 2025, when marketing entrepreneur Peter Vincer arranged a meeting between Todd Hines, Dennis and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino in New York. A draft "Tether Comprehensive Brand Plan" proposed that Nxum oversee "strategic lobbying and a full scale public relations and media awareness campaign." The final agreement omitted lobbying references and was signed by Vincer's agency, Notorious, as an intermediary for Nxum, though a planning document stated that "Nxum will engage all necessary parties and lead the entire process."
The disclosure comes amid broader scrutiny of the Trump family's crypto interests, including the memecoin and World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance platform. Fortune reported in July that the president's latest financial disclosure showed $1.4 billion in crypto-related wealth, largely tied to those ventures.
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