A recently established crypto industry political action committee, known as Fellowship PAC, launched with an $11 million backing and has reserved $3 million in advertising services through Nxum Group, a firm co-founded by Bo Hines, the CEO of Tether US. The super PAC aims to support Republican candidates in congressional and gubernatorial races, having gathered $10 million from Cantor Fitzgerald and $1 million from Anchorage Digital, as per the Federal Election Commission's latest filings. The initial $3 million expenditure on political advertisements for its preferred candidates has been channeled to Nxum Group, which was established by Hines, his father, and another partner.
Although Fellowship PAC has been associated with Tether since its inception and has a senior Tether executive as its chairman, the majority of its funding originated from Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York-based financial services giant that manages Tether's stablecoin reserves. Cantor's former chief executive, Howard Lutnick, currently serves as the US Commerce Secretary, while his children have taken over 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.
Upon its public launch, Fellowship PAC announced plans to wield $100 million, rivaling the leading crypto PAC, Fairshake. The PAC's treasurer is an executive at Cantor. To date, the PAC has allocated $300,000 to support Clay Fuller, the newest member of the US House of Representatives; $850,000 to back Nate Morris for a US Senate seat in Kentucky; and $350,000 to support incumbent Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The filings also revealed that Nxum has received $3 million in disbursements for advertising services.
Prior to this, Nxum lacked a significant track record in serving PACs or campaigns, with its primary claim to fame being a $1 million donation of billboard ads to MAGA Inc. in 2024.
Upon its formation, Fellowship PAC stated it had $100 million in pledged backing and would advocate for transparency while supporting pro-crypto candidates. However, this level of funding has yet to materialize. Anchorage Digital, the first crypto-native bank to secure a US federal charter, referred to its contribution as an investment in the US crypto policy process. In a statement, the company said, 'Anchorage Digital has made a corporate contribution to the Fellowship PAC as part of our broader, bipartisan approach to advancing regulatory clarity for digital assets in the United States.' Despite the involvement of Tether executives in Fellowship PAC's work, it remains unclear whether Tether or its US arm, Tether US, can make direct contributions to the PAC, as non-US entities are not allowed to participate directly in US campaign finances.