A recently formed crypto industry political action committee, known as Fellowship PAC, has commenced operations with an $11 million investment and 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 elections, having received $10 million from Cantor Fitzgerald and $1 million from Anchorage Digital, a crypto bank, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
The initial $3 million expenditure on political advertisements for preferred candidates has been channeled through Nxum Group, which was founded by Hines, his father, and another partner. Although Fellowship PAC has been closely 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. A representative of Tether US did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a Cantor spokesperson declined to discuss their involvement with the super PAC. When Fellowship PAC was first announced, it claimed to have $100 million in pledged support, which would rival the leading crypto PAC, Fairshake.
The PAC's treasurer is an executive at Cantor. Thus 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, 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, shortly before Hines took a high-profile job at the White House.
Upon its formation, Fellowship PAC stated it had $100 million in pledged backing and would advocate for transparency while supporting pro-crypto candidates, a promise that has yet to materialize. Anchorage Digital, the first crypto-native bank to receive a U.S. federal charter, described its contribution as an investment in the U.S.
crypto policy process, emphasizing its bipartisan approach to advancing regulatory clarity for digital assets in the United States. Despite the involvement of Tether executives in Fellowship PAC's activities, it remains unclear whether Tether or its U.S.
arm, Tether US, can make direct contributions to the PAC, as non-U.S. entities are not permitted to participate directly in U.S. campaign finances.