Nearly $300 million targets the U.S. midterm elections, with a Tether executive leading the cryptocurrency industry’s second-largest political fund
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Nearly $300 million targets the U.S. midterm elections, with a Tether executive leading the cryptocurrency industry’s second-largest political fund
During this critical window for legislative maneuvering, political funding is being used to safeguard industry interests.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
TechFlow Intro: Fellowship, a crypto super PAC founded seven months ago and claiming to have raised over $100 million—yet having spent not a single dollar to date—announced on Wednesday the appointment of Jesse Spiro, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US, as its chairman. This marks the first formal, public link between Tether and the PAC. Meanwhile, another major crypto PAC, Fairshake, already holds a $193 million war chest. Combined, these two PACs wield nearly $300 million in political funds aimed squarely at the November midterm elections—while congressional negotiations over stablecoin yield remain deadlocked.
The crypto industry’s political arms race is intensifying.
According to a Cointelegraph report dated April 1, Fellowship PAC announced on Wednesday that Jesse Spiro, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US, will serve as the organization’s chairman, leading its next phase of expansion and unveiling its first slate of endorsed candidates within the coming days. Fellowship is a super PAC founded in August 2025; last September, it claimed to have raised “over $100 million” from unnamed donors aligned with the crypto industry.
In his statement, Spiro said: “This is a pivotal moment for American innovation. We have an opportunity to ensure the United States remains the global hub for builders, entrepreneurs, and technological advancement. The Fellowship PAC is committed to supporting leaders who understand what’s at stake—and are willing to act.”
From “Denying Any Link” to “Executive Leadership”: Tether’s Relationship with Fellowship Emerges into View
Since its high-profile debut last September, the identity of Fellowship PAC’s financial backers has remained one of the industry’s biggest open questions.
At its founding, the PAC disclosed no management, donors, or key employees. Early reports named Tether as an expected supporter—but Tether International subsequently issued an official denial of any affiliation with the PAC. According to a CoinDesk report from February this year, a Tether International spokesperson explicitly stated, “Tether International has no affiliation with Fellowship.”
Yet FEC records tell a different story. Mitchell Nobel, Fellowship’s registered treasurer, is an executive at Cantor Fitzgerald—the very firm entrusted with safeguarding Tether’s multi-billion-dollar reserves. The PAC’s registered address is in Bethesda, Maryland.
Now, with a current Tether US executive formally assuming the chairmanship, longstanding rumors have crystallized into public record. As reported by BeInCrypto, this is the first formal, public affiliation established between Fellowship PAC and Tether.
Spiro joined Tether in 2024 as Head of Government Affairs. Prior to that, he led blockchain and digital asset regulatory relations at PayPal, and earlier served as Head of Government Affairs at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
A $100 Million “War Chest” That Has Yet to Fire a Single Shot: Zero Expenditures Reported to the FEC
Although Fellowship claims to hold $100 million in funding, FEC records show that as of December 31 last year, the PAC reported zero contributions received and zero expenditures made. Since its September launch, Fellowship has posted only three public statements on X—operating virtually “in stealth mode.”
This stark contrast has sparked widespread skepticism. In a February 25 investigative report, CoinDesk noted that Fellowship—seven months old—had “never shown up,” and its promised $100 million had left no trace in Federal Election Commission disclosures.
Spiro’s appointment is widely seen as Fellowship’s signal to reemerge from silence into the public eye. The PAC says it will unveil its first slate of endorsed candidates within the coming days—more than seven months before the November midterms.
Bo Hines, Executive Director of the White House Digital Assets Advisory Committee, voiced support for the appointment on X, writing: “The fight for American innovation needs serious advocates. I look forward to seeing leaders elected who truly understand what’s at stake.”
The Crypto PAC Arms Race: Fairshake Holds $193 Million—and Has Already Spent $8.6 Million in Illinois
Fellowship is not the crypto industry’s only political funding engine. Fairshake PAC—and its affiliated organizations—backed by Coinbase, Ripple, and a16z, reported holding $193 million in cash as of January this year, making it currently the largest crypto super PAC by funding.
Fairshake has already taken concrete action. According to Cointelegraph, the PAC and its affiliates have spent approximately $8.6 million on U.S. House races in Illinois—six times what it spent there in 2024. While some Fairshake-backed candidates failed to win in Illinois’ March primaries, the midterms still offer a seven-month window.
During the 2024 election cycle, Fairshake spent over $130 million on media placements, and more than 50 candidates it supported won their races. According to nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen, nearly half of all corporate money flowing into the 2024 elections came from the crypto industry.
Today, with Fellowship and Fairshake collectively commanding nearly $300 million—and bolstered by other crypto political spending forces—the 2026 midterms are poised to set a new record for industry political expenditure.
Legislative Shadow War: Stablecoin Yield Dispute Stalls the CLARITY Act—Tether’s Interests Hang in the Balance
Spiro’s appointment is no coincidence. The crypto industry’s top legislative priority—the Crypto Asset Market and Regulatory Clarity Act (CLARITY Act)—is stalled in the Senate, with stablecoin yield emerging as one of the central flashpoints—a provision directly impacting Tether’s business model.
The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 by a vote of 294–134 and cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee in January this year. But at the Senate Banking Committee level, fierce negotiations continue between the banking sector and the crypto industry over whether stablecoins may pay yield to users.
On March 20, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached a principle-level compromise: passive yield based on held balances would be prohibited, but reward programs tied to transaction activity would be permitted. As reported by CoinDesk, after crypto industry representatives reviewed the latest draft language behind closed doors on Capitol Hill on March 23, they deemed the wording overly narrow and ambiguous. Coinbase has publicly opposed the current draft twice.
The Senate Banking Committee’s markup session is currently scheduled for late April, following the Easter recess. Senator Bernie Moreno warned that if the bill fails to advance before May, serious consideration of crypto legislation may vanish entirely during the midterm election cycle.
Making matters worse, David Sacks—the White House’s “czar” for AI and crypto affairs—confirmed on March 26 that his 130-day term had expired, and the administration will not appoint a successor. The industry’s most critical legislative push will proceed without its chief advocate at the White House.
Tether’s USDT is the world’s largest stablecoin, with a market cap of roughly $184 billion—but it is not offered to U.S. residents. Last year, Tether launched USAT, a compliant stablecoin designed specifically for the U.S. market. The final shape of stablecoin yield provisions will directly determine the operational scope available to Tether—and its competitors—in the U.S. market.
Against this backdrop, Tether’s decision to place a senior executive at the helm of a PAC signals a clear strategic shift: moving political influence operations from behind the scenes to center stage—and deploying political capital to safeguard industry interests during this decisive legislative window.
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