Original author: Shenchao TechFlow
Overview: After seven months of existence and claiming to have raised over $100 million without spending a single dollar, the crypto super PAC Fellowship announced on Wednesday the appointment of Jesse Spiro, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US, as its chair. This marks the first formal, public connection between Tether and the PAC. Meanwhile, another major crypto PAC, Fairshake, has amassed a war chest of $193 million. Together, the two PACs now control nearly $300 million in political funding aimed at the November midterm elections, while legislative debates in Congress over stablecoin yields remain unresolved.
The political arms race in the cryptocurrency industry is escalating.
According to Cointelegraph on April 1, Fellowship PAC announced on Wednesday that Jesse Spiro, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US, will assume the role of chair, leading the organization’s next phase of expansion, with the first slate of candidate endorsements to be announced in the coming days. Fellowship is a super PAC established in August 2025 that claimed in September last year to have raised “over $100 million” from unnamed donors aligned with the crypto industry.
Spiro stated in the announcement: “This is a pivotal moment for American innovation. We have the opportunity to ensure that the United States remains the global center for builders, entrepreneurs, and technological advancement. The Fellowship PAC is committed to supporting leaders who understand what’s at stake and are willing to take action.”
From "Denying Association" to "Executives on the Ground," the Relationship Between Tether and Fellowship Comes to Light
Since its high-profile debut in September last year, the identity of the backer behind Fellowship PAC has been one of the industry's biggest mysteries.
When the PAC was established, no managers, donors, or key employees were disclosed. Early reports listed Tether as an expected supporter, but Tether International subsequently formally denied any association with the PAC. According to a CoinDesk report in February this year, a Tether International spokesperson explicitly stated, “Tether International has no affiliation with the Fellowship.”
But the FEC records tell a different story. Mitchell Nobel, the registered treasurer of the Fellowship, is an executive at Cantor Fitzgerald—the custodian responsible for managing billions of dollars in Tether’s reserves. The PAC’s registered address is in Bethesda, Maryland.
Today, a current Tether US executive has officially assumed the role of PAC chair, finally turning prior rumors into public record. According to BeInCrypto, this marks the first formal, public connection between Fellowship PAC and Tether.
Spiro joined Tether in 2024 as Head of Government Affairs, previously overseeing blockchain and digital assets regulatory relations at PayPal, and earlier serving in a government affairs leadership role at the on-chain analytics firm Chainalysis.
The $100 million "war chest" has fired not a single shot; FEC records show zero spending.
Although Fellowship claims to have $100 million in funding, FEC records show that as of December 31 of last year, the PAC reported no donations received or expenditures made. Since its September launch, Fellowship has posted only three public statements on X, operating almost invisibly.
This discrepancy has sparked widespread skepticism. In a February 25 investigative report, CoinDesk noted that, in the seven months since its founding, the Fellowship had "never shown up," and its promised $100 million in funding left no trace in disclosures to the Federal Election Commission.
Spiro’s appointment is seen as a signal that Fellowship is reemerging into the public eye. PAC stated it will announce its first round of candidate endorsements in the coming days, more than seven months before the November midterm elections.
Bo Hines, Executive Director of the White House Advisory Committee on Digital Assets, expressed support for the appointment on X, posting: “The fight for American innovation needs serious advocates. Looking forward to seeing leaders who truly understand the stakes elected.”
The crypto PAC arms race: Fairshake holds $193 million and has already spent $8.6 million in Illinois.
Fellowship is not the only political funding machine in the crypto industry. As of January this year, Fairshake PAC and its affiliated organizations, backed by Coinbase, Ripple, and a16z, reported holding $193 million in cash, making them the largest super PAC in the crypto industry by funding size.
Fairshake has begun taking concrete action. According to Cointelegraph, the PAC and its affiliated organizations have spent approximately $8.6 million in Illinois congressional races, six times their spending in the state during 2024. Although some candidates supported by Fairshake lost in the Illinois primary in March, there remains a seven-month window until the midterm elections.
During the 2024 election cycle, Fairshake spent over $1.3 billion on media advertising, helping more than 50 candidates, most of whom were successfully elected. According to statistics from the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen, nearly half of the corporate funds flowing into the 2024 elections came from the cryptocurrency industry.
Today, with the combined war chests of Fellowship and Fairshake totaling nearly $3 billion, along with other political contributions from the crypto industry, the 2026 midterm elections are poised to set a new record for industry political spending.
Legislative Battle: Stablecoin Yield Dispute Stalls the CLARITY Bill, with Tether at Stake
The timing of Spiro’s appointment is no coincidence. The CLARITY Act, the crypto industry’s top legislative priority, is currently stalled in the Senate, with one of the key points of contention being stablecoin yields—directly impacting Tether’s business model.
The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 by a vote of 294 to 134 and was reviewed by the Senate Agriculture Committee in January of this year. However, at the Senate Banking Committee level, a fierce debate has emerged between the banking industry and the crypto sector over whether stablecoins should be allowed to pay interest to users.
On March 20, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached a principled compromise on stablecoin yields: prohibiting passive yield payments based on balance holdings, but permitting reward programs tied to transaction activity. According to CoinDesk, after crypto industry representatives reviewed the latest language in a closed-door session on Capitol Hill on March 23, they deemed the wording too narrow and ambiguous. Coinbase has twice stated its opposition to the current draft.
The Senate Banking Committee’s markup is currently scheduled to take place after the Easter recess in late April. Senator Bernie Moreno warned that if the bill does not advance before May, crypto legislation may not receive serious consideration during the midterm election cycle.
To make matters worse, David Sacks, the White House’s AI and crypto czar, confirmed on March 26 that his 130-day term had expired and that the administration would not appoint a successor. The crypto industry’s most critical legislative push will now proceed without its top advocate in the White House.
USDT, issued by Tether, is the world's largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of approximately $184 billion, but it is not available to U.S. residents. Tether launched USAT last year, a compliant stablecoin designed for the U.S. market. The final outcome of stablecoin yield terms will directly determine Tether’s and its competitors’ operational space in the U.S. market.
Under this context, Tether has moved its political influence-building from behind the scenes to the forefront by appointing executives as chair of the PAC, sending a clear signal: during this critical window of legislative negotiation, political funding will be used to safeguard the industry’s interests.