Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked Tether in an Oct. 22, 2026, letter to provide records of its dealings with former White House digital-assets official Bo Hines and his consulting firm, Nxum, by Nov. 3. The request follows a Wall Street Journal report that Nxum earned $6.3 million from a Tether deal struck while Hines kept a one-third stake in the firm and helped shape the GENIUS Act.
A Nxum representative told the Journal that Hines was not involved in the deal and received no Tether-derived funds while in government. Tether said an investigation by external counsel found no evidence of wrongdoing. Blumenthal wrote that the reported payment structure suggested Tether was likely aware of the impropriety of paying a sitting official; his letter sought records, not a finding of wrongdoing.
