US Senator Probes Tether Over Reported $6.3M Nxum Deal

US Sen. Richard Blumenthal has asked Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino for documents connected to a reported $6.3 million marketing agreement between the stablecoin issuer and Nxum, a company co-founded by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines. The Democratic ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations requested records of contracts, payments, communications and lobbying activity, according to a letter issued Thursday.

Blumenthal said the inquiry is examining the relationship among Tether, Nxum and Hines, who served as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets from January to August 2025. Hines later became a strategic adviser at Tether and CEO of Tether US. The senator also cited reports that Tether coordinated with Nxum on lobbying for the GENIUS Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins, and that Ardoino urged Nxum to “obliterate” the legislation’s opponents.

The lawmaker argued that Hines did not divest his one-third stake in Nxum and questioned whether Tether was aware of potential ethical and legal concerns involving payments to a former administration official who had influenced cryptocurrency policy. Blumenthal also noted that Harry Jung, another former Trump administration crypto adviser, left government in July 2026 before joining Nxum as a managing director in August.

Tether said it was aware of the allegations but that external counsel “found no evidence of wrongdoing” following an in-depth internal investigation. The company’s response came after Blumenthal requested information about the reported agreement and the lobbying activities described in the Wall Street Journal report.