Tether [USDT] doesn’t usually stay out of the headlines for too long. This time, the story involves a former White House official.
Per exclusive reportage from WSJ , Tether sent about $6.3 million to a consulting firm called Nxum. Bo Hines co-founded it, and he owned a third of it the whole time he was in government. Research is based on internal documents and payment records.
The first payment was, reportedly, while Hines was still at the White House. He was working as the executive director of its digital assets council, which was from January to August 2025.
Where it gets interesting is that it was the same time that Hines was pushing for the GENIUS Act, which was eventually signed into law in July 2025.
Funnily enough, the biggest stablecoin issuer in the market is Tether, with USDT . That’s direct business involvement.
Things moved fast from there, as Hines quit the White House in August, then joined Tether as an advisor soon after.
They firmly stated that Hines had nothing to do with Tether while he was in government.
Nxum representatives say that Hines’ policy push took place when he wasn’t active in Nxum’s day-to-day.
The whole idea behind the GENIUS Act was that it would provide credibility to the asset class. This puts us two steps back. Right now, Tether is trying to grow in the US under the exact rules Hines worked for.