A Wall Street Journal investigation has revealed that Nxum, a small consulting firm co-owned by Bo Hines, received approximately $6.3 million through a marketing arrangement with Tether as the GENIUS Act, a key stablecoin law, passed through Congress.
Payments and contract structure
According to internal documents, messages, and payment records reviewed by the Journal, the first payment was made in May 2025, several weeks before the GENIUS Act became law. The records indicate that Tether channeled its payments through Notorious, a marketing agency managed by Peter Vincer, rather than signing a contract with Nxum directly.
The contract with Notorious was valued at $415,000 per month, with payments billed for six months at a time over at least a two-year span. On May 11, 2025, Bitfinex, a crypto exchange affiliated with Tether’s parent company, sent the first installment of $2.49 million to Notorious. Of this, Vincer reportedly withheld $498,000 and transferred the remainder to a wallet controlled by Nxum.
| Date | Payer | Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 2025 | Bitfinex | Notorious | $2.49 million |
| December 2025 | Tether/Bitfinex | Nxum | $2.49 million |
| April 2026 | Tether/Bitfinex | Nxum | $2.49 million |
Following Bo Hines’s departure from government, ongoing payments were reportedly sent directly to Nxum, with additional installments occurring in December 2025 and April 2026.
Mini dictionary: GENIUS Act — A US legislative act focused on establishing regulatory standards and compliance deadlines for stablecoin issuers.
Bo Hines’s role and the compliance extension
Bo Hines served as a leader in the White House’s stablecoin negotiations during the period when these payments began. The Journal cited unnamed sources involved in negotiations, stating that Hines advocated for extending the compliance window for the GENIUS Act, seeking to move it from 18 to 36 months. This extension would have primarily benefited Tether, which reportedly required more time than its US-based competitors to meet the law’s requirements.
The Journal’s review of Signal messages indicates that Hines provided talking points to Nxum partners in June 2025 while they were interacting with Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino. Twenty-two days after Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act, Hines announced his departure from the White House, later joining Tether directly in September.
Response from involved parties
A representative from Nxum reportedly stated that Hines had no knowledge of, or involvement with, the firm’s dealings with Tether during his government service, adding that he “did not receive any Tether-derived funds during that period, and had no economic relationship of any kind with Tether while serving in the White House.” They further claimed that Tether could have pursued compliance extensions independently, without the need for any outside arrangements.
Nxum’s representative emphasized that Bo Hines had no awareness of the Tether business during his White House tenure and had no financial connection to Tether while employed there.
Tether reportedly did not respond to requests for comment from either the Journal or other news outlets. A White House official confirmed that Hines no longer works there and reiterated that all staff are expected to follow federal ethics rules.
Ongoing scrutiny of Tether
Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, remains under government scrutiny in Washington. In the previous month, Senator Richard Blumenthal called on the Treasury Department and the Justice Department to investigate Tether, referencing a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report on Iran’s use of USDT for cross-border payments.
Sen. Blumenthal requested a federal probe into Tether’s activities in response to allegations involving USDT transactions linked to sanctioned entities.
Tether, founded in 2014, is one of the largest stablecoin issuers worldwide and maintains operational ties with numerous crypto trading platforms through its parent company.
