Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal Investigates Tether’s Payments to Bo Hines’ Firm

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is seeking explanations from Tether over reported payments to Nxum Group, a consulting firm co-founded by Bo Hines, who previously served as a White House cryptocurrency adviser and now heads Tether’s U.S. operations.

Blumenthal, the senior Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters Thursday to Tether and Nxum requesting records and details about their business relationship.

In a letter addressed to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, the senator raised concerns about the reported arrangement, arguing that payments to a firm connected to a government official involved in developing crypto policy could present ethical and legal questions.

Tether Consulting Deal Under Congressional Review

The inquiry follows a Wall Street Journal report that Nxum received significant consulting payments from Tether while Hines was advising President Donald Trump and his administration on cryptocurrency policy. His work included issues affecting stablecoin issuers, a sector central to Tether’s business.

Blumenthal is asking the company and consulting firm to explain the nature and terms of their dealings.

Tether responded that it knew about the allegations outlined in the senator’s letter. The company said an external legal team had previously conducted a thorough internal investigation and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Earlier reporting from CoinDesk said Nxum had generated millions of dollars by acting as the primary campaign advertising provider for a political action committee associated with Tether, despite having limited experience in political consulting.

Former White House Crypto Officials Join Nxum

Nxum has recently hired Harry Jung, another former White House official who worked on cryptocurrency policy.

The White House office responsible for advising Trump on crypto matters has since become vacant following Patrick Witt’s departure. Witt had replaced Hines as the office’s executive director.

The developments have intensified attention on the relationships between cryptocurrency businesses, political consulting firms and officials involved in shaping digital asset policy.

Blumenthal’s Crypto Investigations Extend Beyond Tether

Blumenthal has pursued inquiries into several areas of the crypto industry, including Trump’s memecoin, financial backers of the president’s crypto ventures, World Liberty Financial, Binance and Tether.

His previous work on Tether includes a report examining the company’s financial connections to Iran. He has also requested information about the stablecoin issuer’s relationship with Cantor Fitzgerald, its U.S. financial partner.

Ardoino criticized Blumenthal’s investigative efforts this week, alleging that the senator had overlooked relevant information and provided a report to the press before allowing Tether to review it or submit a response.

Possible Senate Majority Change Could Strengthen Oversight

Democrats remain in the Senate minority during Trump’s presidency, although their chances of regaining control of the chamber have improved in recent weeks.

If Democrats secure a majority and Blumenthal returns to chair the investigations subcommittee, he would gain greater influence over its agenda and expanded subpoena authority. He has made clear that crypto-related issues would remain high on his oversight agenda.

At the time of the report, prediction market Kalshi assigned Democrats a 69% probability of winning control of the Senate.