Blumenthal Probes Tether Over $6.3M Nxum Deal Involving Bo Hines

US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has asked Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino for records tied to a reported $6.3 million contract between Tether and Nxum, a marketing company co-founded by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines. The request, made in a Thursday letter, covers contracts, payments, communications and lobbying activities involving Tether, Nxum and Hines.

Blumenthal said the arrangement raises ethical and legal concerns because Hines did not divest his one-third stake in Nxum after leaving the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets. According to the senator, encrypted messages showed Nxum coordinating lobbying and advocacy against lawmakers opposed to the GENIUS Act, which regulates stablecoins. Blumenthal also cited messages in which Ardoino allegedly directed Nxum to “obliterate” the legislation’s opponents.

Hines served as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets from January to August 2025 before leaving the White House to become a strategic adviser at Tether and later CEO of Tether US. Harry Jung, another former Trump administration crypto adviser, departed his government role in July 2026 and joined Nxum as managing director the following month.

Tether told Cointelegraph that it was aware of the allegations and that an external legal review conducted after an in-depth internal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing. Blumenthal’s inquiry seeks further documentation as senators examine the relationship between Tether, Nxum and former officials involved in the administration’s cryptocurrency policy.