Senate Democrat probes Tether payments to ex‑White House adviser

Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal is demanding records from Tether over alleged payments to the consulting firm of former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines, who now heads Tether’s U.S. arm. Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, gave Tether until Nov. 3 to respond. The investigation follows reports that Tether paid millions to Hines’s company while he was still advising the Trump administration.

How the alleged payments were structured

The payments, reported by the Wall Street Journal, totalled $6.3 million and were routed through a marketing firm before reaching Nxum, the firm co‑founded by Hines and his father Todd Hines. Hines retained a one‑third stake in Nxum while serving in the White House and allegedly pushed for a longer compliance window that would benefit Tether.

Tether said it was aware of the allegations and that an internal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, adding that external counsel had previously examined the matter. Blumenthal also asked about a Nxum pitch deck, reported by the Journal, that said Tether would buy a 25% stake in the firm for $56 million.

Blumenthal has also asked Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether’s reserve custodian, for records on that relationship, and has previously issued a report on Tether’s financial connections to Iran.