The Fellowship PAC, a newly established political action committee linked to Tether, has disclosed its first financial contribution ahead of the 2026 US congressional midterm elections. The PAC spent $300,000 on advertising for Georgia Republican Clay Fuller through Nxum Group, a firm co-founded by Bo Hines, the current chief executive of Tether's US arm and a former adviser to President Donald Trump.
Although the PAC has advertised itself as a significant player in crypto campaign finance, it had not participated in the US midterm elections until recently. The connection between The Fellowship PAC and Tether was reportedly established when the PAC was announced, but Tether declined to confirm this connection. The PAC's first expense filing to the Federal Election Commission reported the purchase of advertising for Fuller's primary election effort through Nxum Group.
The PAC, which claims to be rooted in transparency, has not responded to questions about its formation, funding, or the payment that may benefit Tether's US CEO and his relative. According to Michael Beckel, a representative of the political reform organization Issue One, setting up a super PAC and paying for services is not against US campaign finance rules as long as the services are provided at fair market value. The general rule is that services must be genuine and the rates paid must be fair market rates.
The Fellowship PAC's advertising effort on behalf of Fuller is not yet clear, apart from the disclosure that money was given to the advertisement provider for his primary election effort. The funds were transferred as Fuller was winning his special election, according to the filing. However, the PAC's disclosures do not yet show a significant amount of contributions to support other candidates, with its current accounts still at zero despite an announcement last year that it would be established with pledges of $100 million. An outside spokesperson for Tether stated that Tether International has no affiliation or oversight over The Fellowship PAC.
The spokesperson offered no response to additional questions about Tether US, deferring further inquiries to the PAC, which did not respond. The Fellowship PAC became active again this month when it announced its chairman would be Jesse Spiro, the vice president of regulatory affairs for Tether's US arm.
The PAC also began listing endorsements for Republican politicians seeking House and Senate seats on its social media feed. The PAC said it is backing advocates of emerging digital assets technology. The first recipient of financial support from The Fellowship PAC, Fuller, is an incoming Republican member of the House of Representatives after winning a special election. The money spent by the PAC was an independent expenditure, meaning it had to be handled without strategizing with Fuller's campaign.
As a candidate, Fuller has not publicly stated his position on crypto and does not have a grade at Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group that evaluates candidates' views. However, he has the backing of Trump, who called him a wonderful and talented man in a post on Truth Social. The firm paid by The Fellowship PAC, Nxum, was co-founded by Bo Hines, who filed ethics disclosures last year as a White House official. It is unclear whether financial ties remain between Hines and Nxum.
There is no federal record of Nxum as a regular service provider for additional political efforts. Before this, the company's primary claim to fame was when it contributed billboard advertising valued at $1 million for MAGA Inc. in support of Trump in 2024. Less than two months after that, the White House hired Hines as executive director of the President's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets.
After less than a year, Hines left the president's service to take a role at Tether, which was making a move into the US. The PAC's treasurer, Mitchell Nobel, is an executive at Cantor Fitzgerald, a firm that manages assets for Tether's global operation and was run by Trump's secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, before he joined the administration. When The Fellowship PAC was announced as a new PAC last year, it was presented as a contrast to previous political engagement, aiming to help the broader crypto ecosystem and not narrow or individual interests.
It is possible that some or all of the promised $100 million is in the PAC's coffers already, as federal disclosures typically trail significantly behind the movements of money. When any contributions are made public, they will identify the origins of the money, which must be from US sources. The relatively young Tether US's stablecoin, USAT, has a market cap of about $37 million, suggesting the firm may not have the independent resources yet to fund a major PAC. According to Beckel, massive spending by an industry is something that lawmakers are taking seriously and taking note of.
The rival crypto super PAC, Fairshake, has expended millions in the early contests. The US midterm elections are already well underway, with many of the hotly contested primaries already past or about to happen. If the US House is taken over by a Democratic majority, the committees there will likely shift their agenda to challenge Trump's legislative efforts and investigate the administration's actions.
Even the difficult lineup of races for Democrats to take the Senate has shifted toward better-than-even odds, suggesting the likelihood that the crypto industry will need a lot of friends from both parties. It's not too late for The Fellowship PAC to make a splash in a congressional field that's likely to have major significance for future crypto legislation. So far, the PAC is focusing support only on Republicans, almost all of them said by political analysts to be in deep-red regions. If they win, they may face a challenging shift on Capitol Hill next year.