Trump's crypto point man held a third of a firm that took $6.3 million from Tether, with the first payment landing while he was still in the White House pushing the stablecoin law, the Wall Street Journal reports

The man who steered the stablecoin law through Washington had a financial link to the world's largest stablecoin issuer while he did it, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation reported on Thursday by Cointelegraph and Bitcoin.com News. Bo Hines, executive director of the White House digital assets council before he left for Tether in August 2025, held a one-third stake in Nxum, an investment firm he co-founded, and Nxum received about $6.3 million through an arrangement with Tether, the issuer of USDT.

The Journal's account, as relayed by the two outlets, says the deal was brokered in May 2025 through a marketing company and called for $415,000 a month over at least two years. A $2.49 million payment arrived via Bitfinex on May 11, 2025, while Hines was still in office, and two more transfers followed in December 2025 and April 2026. Tether also proposed a $56 million investment for a 25% stake in Nxum. Internal records and Signal messages reportedly show Hines sending GENIUS Act updates to his Nxum partners while they were in contact with Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino, and the Journal said he argued for stretching some compliance deadlines from 18 to 36 months, which would help foreign issuers such as Tether.

Nxum denied wrongdoing, saying Hines recused himself from the company, held a passive interest and received no Tether-derived money while serving. Tether had not responded to Cointelegraph. President Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July 2025; Hines joined Tether the following month and became head of its US business in September. The law takes effect in January 2027, and the rules under it are still being written.