TL;DR
- Tether reportedly paid approximately $6.3 million to Nxum, a consulting firm in which former White House official Bo Hines held a one-third ownership stake.
- Bo Hines helped develop the GENIUS Act while maintaining his stake in Nxum and later joined Tether.
- A Wall Street Journal investigation uncovered communications between Hines and his business partners about the legislation, although Nxum denied any wrongdoing.
Tether reportedly paid approximately $6.3 million to a consulting firm partly owned by Bo Hines while he held a senior cryptocurrency-related position at the White House, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal.
Hines owned one-third of Nxum, a firm that received payments linked to the USDT issuer while he was involved in developing the GENIUS Act, which establishes a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States.
The former official subsequently left the Trump administration to join Tether, first as an adviser and later as CEO of its U.S. operations.
Tether and Nxum: Millions Paid During the Development of the GENIUS Act
According to the investigation, the agreement between Tether and Nxum was arranged in May 2025 through Notorious, a marketing company run by intermediary Peter Vincer.
The contract called for monthly payments of $415,000 for at least two years. An initial transfer of $2.49 million was reportedly made on May 11, 2025, through the Bitfinex exchange.
Two additional payments followed in December 2025 and April 2026. After intermediary fees were deducted, Nxum reportedly received approximately $6.3 million.
Communications About Regulation and Nxum’s Response
The Wall Street Journal examined internal records and Signal messages that, according to its investigation, show Hines shared information about the GENIUS Act with Nxum partners while they were communicating with Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO.
Hines also advocated extending certain regulatory compliance deadlines from 18 to 36 months, a change that could benefit foreign stablecoin issuers.
Trump signed the legislation into law in July 2025, and Hines joined Tether as an adviser the following month.
Nxum denied any wrongdoing, stating that Hines had stepped away from its business activities, maintained only a passive ownership stake, and received no payments during his government service.
The investigation also identified a proposed $56 million investment through which Tether would acquire a 25% stake in Nxum.
