Tether sent approximately $6.3 million to a consulting firm co-founded by Bo Hines, according to The Wall Street Journal. At least part of that money moved while Hines was still working in the White House.
Hines later joined Tether and now runs its US operations. The sequence is drawing conflict-of-interest scrutiny, because Hines helped advance the stablecoin law that now governs companies like his new employer.
What the Journal found
The firm is called Nxum. The Journal reported that Hines co-founded it and held a one-third ownership stake throughout his time in government.
Tether’s payments to Nxum came under a deal brokered in May 2025. The first payment landed while Hines still held his government post.
His job at the time was executive director of the White House’s digital assets council, a role he held from January to August 2025.
The Journal’s reporting draws on internal documents and payment records.
During that same stretch, Hines was a prominent advocate for the GENIUS Act. The bill set federal rules for dollar-pegged stablecoins, and President Trump signed it into law in July 2025.
Tether is the issuer of USDT, the largest stablecoin. A federal stablecoin framework therefore lands directly on its business, deciding who can issue these tokens in the US and on what terms.
From the council to the corner office
Hines left the White House in August 2025. That same month, he joined Tether as a strategic advisor.
By September 2025, he was named CEO of Tether’s US operations, with a mandate focused on expanding the company’s presence in the country.
Nxum has pushed back on that reading. The firm says Hines had no involvement with Tether while he was serving in government.
The research also indicates Hines took part in discussions about the GENIUS Act during a period when he was not active in Nxum’s operations. That distinction appears to be central to the defense: he owned a piece of the firm, but he was not running it.
What this means for Tether and stablecoin regulation
The GENIUS Act was sold as a framework built to bring order and credibility to stablecoins. A story suggesting that a key promoter had financial ties to a major issuer while the law was being shaped could hand critics fresh ammunition.
For Tether’s US ambitions, timing is awkward. The company is trying to build a domestic footprint under the very rules Hines helped promote, with Hines himself in charge of that effort.
Nxum’s position is that Hines kept his distance from Tether while in government. The payment records described by the Journal show the money moved anyway, and that gap between the two accounts is where the scrutiny will likely stay focused.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.