U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has requested information from two companies following reports that Bo Hines’s company received payments from Tether while he was serving as a crypto adviser at the White House.
According to CoinDesk, Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters to Tether and consulting firm Nxum Group on Thursday, October 22. At issue is a business relationship established while Hines, who now leads Tether’s U.S. unit, was in public service.
Did his company receive payments while he was drafting crypto rules?
A report published by The Wall Street Journal last week alleged that Nxum, which Hines founded with his father and a partner, received substantial consulting payments from Tether while he was advising the Trump administration on crypto policy. The issues Hines worked on included stablecoin regulations that also affect Tether’s operations.
Blumenthal argues that the nature and terms of the relationship raise ethical and legal concerns. The senator questioned Tether’s payment relationship with a White House official directly involved in shaping crypto legislation and requested details of the business arrangements.
Tether’s response and earlier business ties
Tether representatives had not responded to requests for comment on the new letters by the time the report was published. CEO Ardoino had criticized Blumenthal’s earlier work during the week, saying that important information had been overlooked and that a report was shared with the press before the company had a chance to respond.
Nxum’s work connected to Tether had come under scrutiny before. The company was reported to have earned millions of dollars by producing campaign ads for a political action committee affiliated with Tether. Separate from that advertising work, the new information request focuses on the consulting payments allegedly made while Hines was serving at the White House.
Not investment advice.