Crypto: A White House Adviser is Allegedly Bought Off by Tether

A major political and judicial storm has just erupted at the heart of the American crypto ecosystem. The issuer of the USDT stablecoin, Tether, is under fire from a federal investigation led by the United States Senate. At the center of the accusations is the payment of several million dollars to a senior White House official aimed at influencing the regulation of digital assets and tailoring laws to measure.

Crypto: $6.3 Million Paid by Tether to the White House

The case broke out following an investigative report published by the Wall Street Journal. According to the economic daily’s revelations, Tether allegedly paid about $6.3 million to a consulting firm called Nxum. A major issue is that this firm was co-founded and partially owned by Bo Hines, at the very time when he was acting as senior adviser on digital asset and crypto policies at the White House.

Wall Street Journal article on Tether’s transaction to Bo Hines.

To conceal this direct financial link between the USDT issuer and the executive adviser in office, the payments were allegedly not made transparently. The report indicates that Tether routed its crypto funds through an intermediary agency (Notorious), which then transferred them to Nxum. This arrangement aimed to bypass the strict ethical controls imposed on officials in the US administration.

Genius Act: A Tailor-Made Law for USDT? The US Senate’s Reaction

The consequences of these suspicious payments apparently quickly manifested on the legislative front. During his tenure at the White House, Bo Hines weighed heavily in negotiations surrounding the GENIUS Act, a key law aimed at regulating stablecoins in the United States. He reportedly obtained strategic exemptions and an extension of the compliance timeline from 18 to 36 months, thus offering crucial relief to Tether to continue its crypto operations without risk of blockage.

Only a few weeks after leaving the government in August 2025, Bo Hines executed a perfect “revolving door” move by becoming CEO of the American branch, Tether U.S. Faced with these revelations, the political reaction was swift. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), officially seized the case:

The alleged payment of several million dollars by Tether to a company controlled by the White House official primarily responsible for crypto policy calls into question federal laws on ethics, anti-corruption, and lobbying.

Ultimatum by November 6 for Tether: What Does the Crypto Company Risk?

The US Senate immediately took action by sending formal injunction letters to Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, as well as to Nxum’s management. Lawmakers demand the submission of all contracts, financial statements, and encrypted message exchanges by November 6, 2026. Investigators are particularly interested in internal directives from Tether’s management instructing to “crush” any opposition to their legislative amendments.

This procedure exposes Tether to significant legal and operational risks in the United States. If suspicions of violations of anti-corruption and illegal lobbying laws are confirmed, the repercussions could go beyond simple financial fines. While Tether seeks to strengthen its presence on American soil with Tether U.S., this political scandal could severely undermine institutional trust and push regulators to impose unprecedented constraints on the crypto market.

This political interference scandal in crypto calls into question Tether’s lobbying methods and casts a shadow over the negotiations of the GENIUS Act in the United States. Do you think this US Senate investigation could weaken the dominant position of USDT against its regulated competitors?