Tether Faces Senate Probe Over $6.3M Deal With Nxum

US Sen. Richard Blumenthal has asked Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino to provide records related to a reported $6.3 million contract between the stablecoin issuer and Nxum, a marketing company co-founded by former Trump administration crypto adviser Bo Hines. The Democratic ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations requested contracts, payments, communications and lobbying records in a Thursday letter, citing a Wall Street Journal report about the deal.

Blumenthal said the inquiry is examining alleged self-dealing and improper coordination by the Trump administration involving cryptocurrency companies. According to the senator, Hines did not divest his one-third stake in Nxum while the company lobbied against lawmakers who opposed or sought changes to pending stablecoin legislation. Blumenthal also cited messages showing Tether's involvement in Nxum's lobbying campaign concerning the GENIUS Act, including an instruction from Ardoino for the firm to "obliterate" the legislation's opponents. He said the unusual business relationship raises "alarming ethical and legal concerns."

Hines served as executive director of the President's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets from January to August 2025. He subsequently joined Tether as a strategic adviser and later became CEO of Tether US. Harry Jung, another adviser in the Trump administration, left his government position in July 2026 before joining Nxum as a managing director in August.

Tether acknowledged the allegations in a statement to Cointelegraph, saying an external counsel review "found no evidence of wrongdoing" following an "in-depth internal investigation." The Senate inquiry adds scrutiny to Tether's operations in Washington as the company seeks favorable treatment for the stablecoin legislation that could shape its US business.