A $100 million crypto campaign fund with a pro-Trump vibe so far failed to show up
The Fellowship political action committee promised $100 million, with reports that Tether may have been tied as a backer, but the fund has so far delivered zero.
By Jesse Hamilton|Edited by Nikhilesh De Feb 25, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
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What to know:
- It was supposed to be a major crypto player in the midterm U.S. congressional elections, according to its launch, but the Fellowship PAC hasn't yet appeared with its promised $100 million.
- Early reports had connected the effort with Tether as a backer, and when asked this week whether it's involved, a company spokesperson said "Tether International has no affiliation" with Fellowship.
- Despite Fellowship's September announcement, a live website and an account on X, no money has been set aside in the campaign fund, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission disclosures.
The crypto industry demonstrated in the last U.S. elections that $100 million spent on congressional campaigns could influence policy outcomes for the sector, so when an emerging crypto political action committee anonymously promised to bring that amount to the 2026 table, it suggested a significant new (unidentified) voice in digital assets politics.
But the Fellowship PAC never arrived.
A September press release received wide attention last year as a major leap in the industry's already hefty campaign spending from the more established leading super PAC, Fairshake. Among its backers, the new group was reportedly to include Tether, the global leader in stablecoins with its USDT and more recent push into the U.S. with a separate affiliate and the USAT token, though representatives from the company declined to confirm any connection.
"Unlike past political efforts, the Fellowship PAC's mission is defined by transparency and trust, ensuring political action directly supports the broader ecosystem rather than narrow or individual interests," the PAC's original September release said, seeming to suggest it would plot a different course than Fairshake. The release did not identify any officers, donors or key employees, nor did the PAC's website.
Fellowship's announcement credited President Donald Trump with a regulatory framework "that puts America on the path to become the global crypto capital."
When asked about the involvement of Tether, which established its U.S. division around the same time as the Fellowship unveiling, company spokesperson Alex Welch said this week that the global Tether has no say in the PAC but was silent on whether the U.S. operations had any part in Fellowship.
"Tether International has no affiliation or oversight of Fellowship, so any inquiries can be directed to the Fellowship website and associated email," Welch said in an email.
Repeated attempts to contact Fellowship went unanswered, though it established the website and an account on social media site X, where its most recent activity was reposting a comment from Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino earlier this month. It also registered as a super PAC with the Federal Election Commission, listing its treasurer as Mitchell Nobel, who directs digital-assets strategy at Cantor Fitzgerald, where Trump's Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick was CEO. That firm has also handled Tether's assets in recent years.
What Fellowship didn't do, according to FEC records, was receive any money to operate with. Its current filings show zero funds on-hand.
Under U.S. election law, a PAC can't be funded by a non-U.S. entity. Foreign money influencing U.S. politics has been a longtime concern, and it's drawn new scrutiny during the Trump administration, including from those suggesting that Trump-supporting PACs may have improper ties to foreign donors. Political involvement from Tether — if it had emerged — may have attracted further scrutiny, even if confined to its U.S. operations, because such a subsidiary would have to represent that its money was generated domestically and its political decisions weren't guided by foreign nationals.
Meanwhile, the industry's top super PAC, Fairshake, has said it has $193 million and that the PAC and its affiliates have begun targeting their first campaigns, seeking to ensure pro-crypto candidates eventually join Congress. In the 2024 cycle, Fairshake — primarily funded by Coinbase, a16z and Ripple — supported more than 50 candidates from both parties who are now in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Some of the earliest 2026 primaries are fast approaching, meaning any new entrants to political spending could arrive late to the party. It's unclear whether the midterm congressional elections will yet see Fellowship's "$100 million commitment to back pro-innovation, pro-crypto candidates who will safeguard America's role as the global leader in digital assets and entrepreneurship."
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