Hines kept Nxum stake as Tether payments began during law push

Hines kept Nxum stake as Tether payments began during law push

2 min read•Oct 16, 2026•
Jessica Morgan
Jessica Morgan

Nxum, a consulting firm co-owned by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines, earned $6.3 million under a Tether deal, first reported by Fortune. The payments began while Hines led the White House push for the Genius Act, which regulates stablecoins, or dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies, as he retained a one-third stake in Nxum.

Founded in 2022 by Hines, his father Todd Hines and marketing executive Gary Dennis, Nxum was expected to develop a strategic brand and public affairs plan for El Salvador-based Tether. Hines reportedly stepped back from managing the firm when he joined the administration but kept his one-third ownership stake.

President Donald Trump signed the Genius Act in July 2025. Hines left the White House weeks later, and Tether hired him the following month to lead its new U.S. division while continuing to pay millions to Nxum.

A potential deal took shape in April 2025, when marketing entrepreneur Peter Vincer arranged a meeting near Central Park in New York between Todd Hines, Dennis and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. Vincer had worked with Nxum on previous business deals, and Hines was then working to advance the Genius Act from inside the White House.

Vincer followed up with a draft proposal for Nxum to oversee strategic lobbying and a full-scale public-relations and media-awareness campaign. The final agreement omitted references to lobbying; Vincer’s agency, Notorious, signed the contract with Tether as an intermediary for Nxum, and a planning document said Nxum would engage necessary parties and lead the process.

The overlap puts Hines’ policy work, retained ownership and Nxum’s Tether payments on the same timeline. The controversy adds to scrutiny of potential conflicts between the administration’s crypto policies and the private business interests of Trump and his advisers.

Ahead of the 2024 election, Nxum helped create Restore the Republic, a Trump-themed memecoin, and contributed $1 million in billboard ads to MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump.

Plug-in vehicles reach 32% of global registrations in September

Plug-in vehicles reached 32% of global registrations in September, first reported by Cleantechnica. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 23% of registrations and set a record at 1.54 million, up 8% year over year, while plug-in hybrids fell 9%; year to date in 2026, BEVs were up 12% and PHEVs down 10%.

Global plug-in registrations rose 3% year over year to around 2.16 million in September, close to the all-time record of 2.17 million set last December.

Year to date, plug-in registrations were up 4% year over year: BEVs grew 12%, while PHEVs fell 10%. Their combined share for 2026 stood at 25%, with BEVs at 18% and PHEVs at 7%. The overall growth rate therefore hides a clear split between the two categories.

The Tesla Model Y led the model rankings with a record 165,000 registrations, up 17% year over year. Tesla Model 3 came second with 65,000, enough to move ahead of Geely Xingyuan and BYD Song despite a 4% annual decline.

BYD Song finished fourth at 54,519 registrations, up 19% and the fastest growth rate among the top five. An export push and the new-generation Ultra body helped lift the model.

At the make level, Tesla had a record 232,000 registrations, up 9% year over year. Toyota reached 61,332 for its fourth record in a row, finishing ahead of Volkswagen’s year-best 58,000 to become September’s best-selling legacy make.