Tether2026-10-24 01:12:45Sen. Richard Blumenthal probes Tether over $6.3 million paid to NxumU.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has opened an inquiry into roughly $6.3 million in payments from stablecoin issuer Tether to consulting firm Nxum, according to Odaily, citing Bitcoin.com News. Nxum was co-founded by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines, who holds a one-third stake in the company. In a letter dated Oct. 22 to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, Blumenthal asked for contracts between the two sides, cryptocurrency payment records, wallet addresses, and related communications. The senator said Tether had been paying Nxum $415,000 per month since May 2025 for strategic communications, lobbying, and public relations work. He also raised questions about Hines retaining his equity stake in Nxum while serving as executive director of the White House Digital Asset Advisory Council, and about whether he coordinated with the firm through encrypted messaging apps. Blumenthal further questioned whether Tether routed crypto payments through marketing firm Notorious before funds were distributed to Nxum shareholders. Tether reportedly began contracting directly with Nxum after August 2025 and later hired Hines to lead its newly established U.S. business. Blumenthal asked Tether, Nxum, and related individuals to respond by Nov. 6. No finding of wrongdoing has been made, and Tether has not publicly responded.80
Tether2026-10-23 17:42:12US senator seeks Tether records over reported Nxum deal tied to former Trump crypto adviserSen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has asked Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino to turn over records tied to the company’s reported relationship with Nxum, a marketing firm co-founded by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines. The request follows a Wall Street Journal report that said Tether entered into a $6.3 million deal with Nxum. In a letter sent Thursday, Blumenthal said the subcommittee is seeking documents covering contracts, payments, communications and lobbying activity between Tether and Nxum. He said the inquiry into Tether, Nxum and Hines forms part of a broader review of what he described as the Trump administration’s “self-enrichment and self-dealings with cryptocurrency firms.” Blumenthal also pointed to reported messages involving Hines and Nxum around lobbying tied to the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin bill, and said Ardoino had pushed Nxum to “obliterate” the bill’s opponents. The report also notes that Hines later joined Tether after leaving the White House, while another Trump-era crypto adviser, Harry Jung, went on to join Nxum. Cointelegraph said Tether did not immediately respond to a request for comment.00
Tether2026-10-22 22:49:21Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal reviews Tether payments to Bo Hines-linked firmRichard Blumenthal, the top Democratic investigator in the U.S. Senate, is reviewing payments made by Tether to Nxum, a company tied to Bo Hines. CoinDesk had previously reported that Hines’ firm earned millions of dollars as the main campaign advertising vendor for a political action committee linked to Tether. The review adds to Blumenthal’s recent scrutiny of the crypto sector, which has included Donald Trump’s meme coin, crypto backers connected to the president’s projects, the Trump family’s crypto company World Liberty Financial, Binance, and Tether. Blumenthal had also issued a report examining Tether’s financial links to Iran and recently asked the company to explain its relationship with U.S. financial partner Cantor Fitzgerald. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino criticized Blumenthal this week, saying the senator ignored important information and shared the report with the media before giving the company a chance to respond. If Democrats retake the Senate in November, Blumenthal could return as chair of the investigative subcommittee with broader subpoena and agenda-setting authority, and he has already said crypto would be a priority.20
Tether2026-10-15 11:01:52Report Says Tether Payments Reached Bo Hines-Linked Firm Through Marketing IntermediaryThe Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 14 that roughly $6.3 million tied to Tether was routed to Nxum, a consulting firm co-owned by former White House digital assets official Bo Hines, through a marketing arrangement rather than a direct contract. According to the report, the first payment was made in May 2025, before the GENIUS Act became law, and later installments of the same size arrived in December 2025 and April 2026. The Journal said it based its account on messages, internal documents, payment records, and blockchain tracing. The report also said Hines pushed lawmakers to extend the law’s compliance window from 18 months to 36 months, a change that would have benefited Tether because it needed more time than U.S. competitors to comply. It further said Hines shared talking points with Nxum partners in June 2025 while they were in contact with Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. Nxum, through a representative, denied that Hines knew about or took part in the Tether business while serving in the White House, and said he received no Tether-derived funds during that period. Tether did not respond to comment requests cited in the story.550
