Tether Accused of Securing Favorable GENIUS Act Terms Through Trump Administration Officials

Tether is facing allegations that it secured favorable provisions during the legislative process for the GENIUS Act, the first US cryptocurrency bill and a measure to regulate stablecoins, through officials tied to the Trump administration.

Bloomberg reported on July 22 that court filings alleged Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, was involved in efforts to neutralize legislation that would have disadvantaged Tether when he was serving as the company's banking partner. The report also said Bo Hines, a White House aide, influenced the inclusion of provisions that favored Tether before later joining the company.

Citing multiple people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that the court documents alleged Lutnick effectively blocked legislation unfavorable to Tether, raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns for public officials. In Hines's case, he allegedly pushed bill language in a direction Tether wanted while serving at the White House, then moved to the company after leaving government.

The allegations surfaced as the US Congress considers stablecoin legislation. Tether, the issuer of the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT, is the world's largest stablecoin company and would be directly affected by the bill's final details.