Former Trump crypto advisor profited after helping to push the stablecoin bill: The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal reported that a company co-founded by Bo Haynes ( Bo Hines ) benefited from the passage of the GENIUS stablecoin bill.

It is reported that Haines once served as an encryption advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, and later joined the stablecoin issuer Tether. While still in office at the White House, he was alleged to have retained shares in a company that profited from the passage of a stablecoin bill.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, during the efforts to persuade U.S. legislators to pass the Stablecoin National Innovation Guidance and Establishment Act (referred to as the "Stablecoin Act"), Haines held a one-third stake in the investment company he co-founded. The report stated that Haines reached a deal with the stablecoin issuer Tether and thereby received $6.3 million; Tether is the issuer of the tokens from USDt ( USDT ). It was also mentioned that Haines was still serving in government at the time of the first payment.

The Wall Street Journal reported that during his tenure as Trump's crypto advisor, Haines continued to maintain contact with the partners of Nxum through the Signal application, and kept them updated on the progress of the GENIUS legislation.

The report also stated that Haines once urged the partners of Nxum to describe any Republican lawmakers who opposed the stablecoin bill as "undermining the president's administration," and claimed they were "bought by Democratic mouthpieces such as Coinbase and a16z." Haines joined Tether in August 2025 as a "strategic advisor" and became responsible for its U.S. operations the following month.

This transaction, which is alleged to have taken place between a former White House official and a cryptocurrency company, has once again sparked allegations against Trump, his family, and his advisors that they may have gained personal benefits from laws they were involved in drafting and passing. Trump disclosed that he earned $1.4 billion in income from investments related to digital assets in 2025, including millions of dollars from his family's cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial; this company is the issuer of the USD1 stablecoin.

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The "GENIUS Act" was passed by Congress in July 2025 and signed into law by the President. Several executives from the cryptocurrency industry attended the signing ceremony, including representatives from stablecoin companies such as "Tether" and "Circle". Haines also attended the event and was recognized by Trump during the ceremony.

Although the bill was signed into law in 2025, the GENIUS Stablecoin Act still requires government agencies responsible for regulating related tokens to establish accompanying rules, including the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department. The law is scheduled to take effect in January 2027.

Cointelegraph sought a comment from Tether regarding the allegations in the report, but did not receive an immediate response.

The "revolving door" of U.S. policymakers moving to crypto companies continues

Previously, several government officials have left their positions to take on roles as executives or consultants in digital asset companies. In addition to Haines joining Tether, former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Sumner Mursinger also resigned three years before the end of his term and went on to become the CEO of an encryption lobbying organization, Blockchain Association.

On Wednesday, Solidus Labs announced that Kevin Webb ( Kevin Webb), who previously served as a senior legal advisor to CFTC and as an advisor to former committee member Brian Quintenz ( Brian Quintenz ), will join this fintech company in the role of Vice President of Policy. Webb is not the first former regulatory official to join the company; Dawn Stump ( Dawn Stump ) from CFTC left that institution in 2022 and joined Solidus in the capacity of "strategic advisor".

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