Request for Records on $6.3 Million Nexo Received From Tether for Consulting
Key Facts
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said on October 22, 2026, that he had requested records and information from Tether on its contracts, payments, communications and lobbying related to Nexo, Bo Hines and other parties. Blumenthal is the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, not the committee’s chairman or a representative of the full Senate. His request followed a Wall Street Journal report that Nexo received payments for consulting work for Tether while Hines was still an adviser to President Donald Trump and his administration on cryptocurrency policy. According to the newspaper’s report, as summarized by Fortune, Nexo’s revenue from the arrangement was about $6.3 million. The money relates to the consulting firm that Hines co-founded and in which he held a stake; the available facts do not establish that he personally received the payments.
According to Blumenthal’s letter, Tether agreed in May 2025 to pay Nexo $415,000 a month, after the company pitched a campaign involving lobbying, public relations and media work. The letter says Tether routed the contract and cryptocurrency payments through Notorious, which passed the money to Nexo before it was distributed among three parties. These details are reported in the senator’s letter citing the newspaper’s report; they are not a judicial finding or a ruling that misconduct occurred. The proposal’s initial form included lobbying and public relations, but Fortune reported that the final agreement removed the reference to lobbying. Notorious signed the contract with Tether as an intermediary for Nexo, according to Fortune’s report.
The timeline links the payments to a period when Hines was working at the White House to advance the GENIUS Act, which regulates stablecoins. The Senate passed the law on June 17, 2025, and Trump signed it into law on July 18. Hines left the White House weeks after the signing, then Tether appointed him the following month to lead its U.S. strategy work, according to Fortune. The company announced on August 19, 2025, that it had appointed him strategic adviser for digital assets and U.S. strategy, saying he would immediately begin coordinating its strategy and expansion in the United States. On September 12, Tether announced plans to launch the U.S. stablecoin USAT and named Hines as its future chief executive, saying the coin was designed to comply with the GENIUS Act.
The GENIUS Act includes reserve and disclosure requirements for stablecoin issuers, according to a Congressional Research Service summary of the bill. Issuers must hold at least $1 in permitted reserves for every dollar of currency they issue. Issuers with balances exceeding $50 billion must also submit audited annual financial statements. The records request comes as Hines had worked on cryptocurrency policy at the White House before moving to a strategic role at Tether after his departure. Blumenthal requested details of the company’s relationship with Nexo and Hines, including the business arrangements surrounding the payments.
Blumenthal’s request asked why Notorious and its chief executive, Peter Vinser, were used as intermediaries between Tether and Nexo, why the contracting shifted to a direct relationship after Hines left the White House, and why a nondisclosure agreement was later requested. In his letter to Tether Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino, the senator described the relationship as raising “troubling ethical and legal concerns”—a characterization from him, not a judicial finding. Tether responded that outside advisers had conducted a thorough internal investigation and found no evidence of wrongdoing. Blumenthal has previously issued a report on Tether’s financial ties to Iran and sought answers from the company about its relationship with its U.S. financial partner, Cantor Fitzgerald. CoinDesk reported that Nexo was also the main advertising provider for a political action committee linked to Tether, and was earning millions of dollars from that work.
Blumenthal asked Tether to submit its response by November 6, 2026, detailing payments to Nexo, Notorious and individuals connected to them. His request includes payment dates and methods, as well as wallet addresses used in cryptocurrency transactions. He also sought information on related contracts, communications and lobbying, allowing the subcommittee to examine the structure of the business relationship described in the reports. The inquiry includes why the contract and payments were routed through an intermediary and whether different arrangements were in place before and after Hines left the White House. The stated response deadline remains the next announced milestone in the process.