Trump Insiders Shaped Crypto Legislation to Favor Tether

The GENIUS Act, signed by Trump in July 2025, marked a significant achievement for the crypto industry and aimed to regulate stablecoins. However, an investigation reveals that Howard Lutnick and Bo Hines, two key figures in the administration, influenced the legislation to benefit Tether, the leading stablecoin issuer.

Lutnick, who was Commerce Secretary at the time, had previously managed Tether's reserve assets through his firm Cantor Fitzgerald. He acted as Tether's crisis PR point man throughout 2024 and lobbied lawmakers to oppose bills that didn't favor Tether. Hines, a White House aide, was in charge of pushing for the bill and made it clear that provisions beneficial to Tether were non-negotiable.

Tether executives completed several business moves between 2024 and 2025, including granting Lutnick's firm an option to buy a multi-billion-dollar equity stake in the company for $600 million. The company also invested $775 million in Rumble Inc., hired Hines as a top executive after the act was signed, and provided a loan to a trust benefiting Lutnick's children.

The GENIUS Act included provisions that critics call a 'regulatory equivalence loophole' and a 'DeFi loophole.' The first allows Tether to be regulated by El Salvador if its standards are deemed equivalent to the US. The second narrows liability for stablecoin issuers, allowing them to avoid tracking token misuse on decentralized finance markets.

Tether denied any impropriety in its lobbying efforts, stating that it has communicated with regulators and lawmakers lawfully and transparently. However, critics argue that the legislation leans heavily in favor of Tether and may allow the company to continue operating with minimal oversight.