US Senate investigator probes Tether payments to firm linked to Bo Hines

United States Senator Richard Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters on Thursday to stablecoin issuer Tether and a consulting company started by Bo Hines, according to CoinDesk and The Defiant. CoinDesk reported that the inquiry centers on payments Tether reportedly made to the firm owned by Hines, a former White House crypto adviser who now leads Tether's business unit in the United States. [1][2][3][5][6][7]

The Defiant reported that Senator Blumenthal requested payment records, cryptocurrency wallet addresses, and lobbying communications from both Tether and the consulting firm Nxum. According to the publication, the senator set a deadline of November 3 for the entities to deliver the requested records. [1][2]

CoinDesk and bloomingbit reported that the letters target potential conflict of interest issues involving the former government official. Hines was appointed Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets in December 2024 before becoming Chief Executive Officer for Tether United States in September 2025. [1][4][7][10]

The inquiry marks an expansion of congressional oversight targeting the stablecoin issuer. As FTMQ Crypto reported earlier, Senator Blumenthal previously launched inquiries into Cantor Fitzgerald's financial ties with Tether and led a subcommittee investigation into Tether's compliance controls regarding Iranian financial networks. [1][6][12][13]