Former cryptocurrency advisor to President Donald Trump, Bo Hines, reportedly held shares in an investment firm with ties to Tether while advocating for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation law.
According to Coin Telegraph on Thursday, Hines, who co-founded the investment firm Nxum, owned approximately one-third of its shares while lobbying Congress to pass the GENIUS Act.
Nxum allegedly received 6.3 million USD through transactions with Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin. The first payment under this contract was reportedly made during Hines’ White House tenure, raising potential conflict of interest concerns.
Sources claim that while working at the White House, Hines used the encrypted messaging app Signal to communicate with Nxum’s co-founders, sharing updates on the GENIUS Act’s legislative progress.
In August 2025, Hines joined Tether as a strategic advisor before becoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tether’s U.S. operations the following month.
The GENIUS Act, designed to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance and oversight in the U.S., was passed by Congress in July 2025 and signed into law by President Trump. It is scheduled to take effect in January 2027.