Crypto PAC Secures $11 Million in Funding, Ties to Tether Emerge

A recently established cryptocurrency industry political action committee, known as Fellowship PAC, has begun its operations with substantial financial backing of $11 million. Notably, it has allocated $3 million for advertising services through Nxum Group, a company co-founded by Bo Hines, the CEO of Tether US. The super PAC is primarily supporting Republican candidates in congressional and gubernatorial races. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, $10 million of the initial funding came from Cantor Fitzgerald, while $1 million was contributed by Anchorage Digital, a crypto bank. The $3 million spent on political advertising for favored candidates has been channeled through Nxum Group, which was founded by Hines, his father, and another partner. While Fellowship PAC has been associated with Tether since its inception and has a Tether senior executive as its chairman, the majority of its funding originated from Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York-based financial services giant that handles Tether's stablecoin reserves. Cantor's former chief, Howard Lutnick, currently serves as Commerce Secretary under President Trump, and his children now oversee the business. A representative from Tether US did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a Cantor spokesperson declined to comment on their involvement with the super PAC. Initially, Fellowship PAC announced it would wield $100 million, rivaling the leading crypto PAC, Fairshake. The PAC's treasurer is an executive at Cantor. So far, the PAC has allocated $300,000 to support Clay Fuller, the newest member of the U.S. House of Representatives; $850,000 to back Nate Morris for a U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky; and $350,000 to support incumbent Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts. The filings also disclosed that Nxum has received $3 million in disbursements for advertising, despite not having a significant track record in serving PACs or campaigns prior to this. When its formation was announced, Fellowship stated it had $100 million in pledged backing and would advocate for transparency while supporting pro-crypto candidates. However, this level of funding has not yet materialized. Anchorage Digital, the first crypto-native bank to receive a U.S. federal charter, viewed its contribution as an investment in the U.S. crypto policy process, stating it is part of their broader approach to advancing regulatory clarity for digital assets in the United States.