Blumenthal Presses Tether Over Hines Payments

CoinDesk reported that Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is seeking records about the business relationship after reports that Nxum received large consulting payments from Tether while Hines was advising President Donald Trump and his administration on crypto policy.

Blumenthal wrote to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino that the “highly unusual terms and nature” of Tether’s relationship with Nxum and Hines raised “alarming ethical and legal concerns.” That is the senator’s accusation, not a finding. What is established from the reporting is narrower and politically combustible enough on its own: a major crypto issuer is being asked to explain payments to a firm tied to an official who had influence over policy central to its business.

The Wall Street Journal, as cited by CoinDesk, reported that Nxum received large payments for consulting work for Tether during Hines’ time as a White House crypto adviser. Blumenthal’s letters seek details of those arrangements.

Tether said it was aware of the allegations underlying the letter and said external counsel had previously conducted an internal investigation that “found no evidence of wrongdoing.”

That may answer for Tether’s purposes, but it plainly does not answer for Blumenthal’s. He has made the company a regular subject of scrutiny, and this inquiry focuses on a Washington pattern that rarely needs much translation: money, access and a policy pipeline.

CoinDesk also reported earlier that Nxum, despite having little track record or political experience, had been making millions of dollars as the main campaign-advertising provider for a political action committee associated with Tether. In this case, though, Blumenthal’s immediate demand is simpler than the broader intrigue around it: show the Senate what the payments were for.