A newly formed super PAC, The Fellowship, has made its first major expenditure, spending $300,000 on advertising for a Republican candidate through a firm tied to Tether's US CEO, Bo Hines. The PAC, which claims to be rooted in transparency, has been linked to Tether, although the company has declined to confirm this connection.
The advertising effort is in support of Georgia Republican Clay Fuller, who recently won a special election. The PAC's first expense filing to the Federal Election Commission reveals that the payment was made to Nxum Group, a company co-founded by Hines and his father, Todd Hines. While it is not against US campaign-finance rules for a super PAC to pay for services provided by a company linked to its executives, the move has raised questions about the PAC's transparency and potential self-dealing.
The Fellowship PAC was announced last year with pledges of $100 million, but its current accounts show no contributions, despite the recent expenditure. The PAC's treasurer, Mitchell Nobel, is an executive at Cantor Fitzgerald, a firm that manages assets for Tether's global operation. The PAC's first recipient of financial support, Fuller, has not publicly stated his position on crypto, but has the backing of President Trump. The Fellowship PAC's activities are being closely watched, as the US midterm elections are already underway, and the crypto industry is likely to need support from both parties in the face of potential regulatory challenges.