The crypto sector’s new Fellowship political action committee disclosed its first contribution ahead of the 2026 congressional midterm elections, and the $300,000 it spent went to a company co-founded by President Donald Trump’s former crypto adviser, Bo Hines — now chief executive of Tether US.

The Fellowship super PAC had advertised itself as a crypto campaign-finance juggernaut last year but hadn’t yet participated in the U.S. midterm elections until a new federal disclosure indicated it’s signed its first check. From the time the PAC was announced, the effort was reportedly tied to Tether, though the company declined to confirm the connection. On April 1, the PAC named Tether US executive Jesse Spiro as its chairman.

Days later, Fellowship quietly made its first expense filing to the Federal Election Commission, reporting that it bought advertising for Georgia Republican Clay Fuller through Nxum Group — a firm co-founded by Hines, father Todd Hines and a third partner. The PAC, which says it’s “rooted in transparency,” hasn’t responded to CoinDesk questions about its formation and funding, nor about the payment that may benefit the Tether US CEO and his relative.

Setting up a super PAC and paying yourself for services isn’t against U.S. campaign-finance rules, as long as the service is provided at appropriate market value, said Michael Beckel at political reform organization Issue One.

“There is no blanket prohibition on self-dealing when we’re talking about political committees like this,” he said in an interview. “The general rule is that services need to be rendered that are bonafide services — actual services — and those rates that are paid have to be fair-market rates.”

Fellowship’s advertising effort on behalf of House of Representatives candidate Fuller isn’t yet clear, apart from the disclosure the PAC made to the FEC that money was given to the advertisement provider for his primary election effort. The funds changed hands just as Fuller was winning his special election, according to the filing.

However, the PAC’s disclosures don’t yet demonstrate a stockpile of contributions to back other candidates, still showing its current accounts at zero, despite an announcement last year that it would be established with pledges of $100 million.

An outside spokesperson for Tether who was asked about the activity at Fellowship responded that Tether International has no affiliation or oversight over Fellowship PAC. The representative offered no response to additional questions about Tether US, deferring further inquiries to the PAC, which didn’t respond.

Tether ties

The PAC became active again only this month when it announced its chairman would be Spiro, the vice president of regulatory affairs for Tether’s U.S. arm. Fellowship also began listing endorsements for Republican politicians seeking House and Senate seats, plus a candidate for governor in South Carolina, Alan Wilson, on its feed at social media site X. The PAC said it’s backing advocates of emerging digital assets technology.

The Fellowship PAC “will begin actively supporting candidates aligned with this vision — leaders who recognize the importance of fostering economic growth and reinforcing the United States as the global leader in next-generation financial infrastructure,” it said in a statement, though Spiro didn’t respond to an attempt to reach him via social media.

The PAC’s first recipient of financial support, Fuller, is an incoming Republican member of the House of Representatives after he just won a special election to replace firebrand Marjorie Taylor Green. Even after that victory, the Georgia politician — not announced among Fellowship’s endorsements — will still need campaign support for the upcoming primary and general election in that state. The money spent by the Fellowship super PAC was an independent expenditure, meaning it had to be handled without strategizing with Fuller’s campaign.

As a candidate, Fuller hasn’t broadcast a position on crypto and doesn’t have a grade at Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group that evaluates candidates’ views. He does have the backing of Trump, who called him “a wonderful and talented man” in a post on Truth Social.

CEO’s old firm

The firm paid by Fellowship PAC, Nxum, included Bo Hines among its owners when he filed ethics disclosures last year as a White House official, working as a leading adviser trying to push crypto legislative advances. It’s unclear whether financial ties remain between Hines and Nxum.

There’s no federal record for 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 in which he helped shepherd the 2025 stablecoin law, Hines left the president’s service to take a role at leading stablecoin issuer Tether, which was making a move into the U.S.

The PAC’s treasurer who signed off on its first spending, 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 Fellowship was announced as a new PAC last year, it was presented as a contrast from previous political engagement. Without naming Fairshake, it said that unlike past efforts, it would be “defined by transparency and trust,” aimed to help the broader crypto ecosystem and not “narrow or individual interests.”

It’s possible that some or all of the promised $100 million is in the PAC’s coffers already, because federal disclosures typically trail significantly behind the movements of money. When any contributions are made public, they’ll identify the origins of the money, which must be from U.S. sources.

The relatively young Tether US’s stablecoin, USAT, has a market cap of about $37 million so far, suggesting the firm may not have the independent resources yet to fund a major PAC.

“Occasionally, those types of super PAC threats are paper tigers that never materialize,” said Beckel. “But we’re seeing in this day and age that massive spending by an industry is something that lawmakers are taking seriously and taking note of.”

The rival

So far, the amount the Fellowship PAC has spent is still a drop in the bucket compared with the receipts of the leading crypto super PAC, Fairshake.

The U.S. midterm elections are already well underway, with many of the hotly contested primaries already past or about to happen. Fairshake has expended millions in the early contests.

If the U.S. House is taken over by a Democratic majority (an 87% chance according to betting at Polymarket), the committees there will likely shift its 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 Fellowship 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.

Read More: A $100 million crypto campaign fund with a pro-Trump vibe so far failed to show up