Author: Deep Tide TechFlow
Deep Tide Guide: Fellowship, a crypto super PAC that was established seven months ago and claimed to have raised over $100 million but has yet to spend a single dollar, announced on Wednesday the appointment of Jesse Spiro, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US, as its chairman. This marks the first official and public connection between Tether and the PAC. Meanwhile, Fairshake, another major crypto PAC, has amassed a war chest of $193 million. Combined, the two PACs are targeting the November midterm elections with nearly $300 million in political funds, while legislative battles over stablecoin yields in Congress remain unresolved.
The political arms race in the crypto industry is escalating.
According to a Cointelegraph report on April 1, Fellowship PAC announced on Wednesday that Jesse Spiro, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US, will assume the role of chairman, leading the organization's next phase of expansion. The PAC will announce its first batch of candidate endorsements in the coming days. Fellowship is a super PAC founded in August 2025, which claimed in September of last year to have raised "over $100 million" from undisclosed donors aligned with the crypto industry.
Spiro stated in the announcement: "This is a critical moment for American innovation. We have the opportunity to ensure that the United States continues to be the global hub for builders, entrepreneurs, and technological progress. Fellowship PAC is committed to supporting leaders who understand the stakes and are willing to take action."
From 'Denying Ties' to 'Executive Leadership,' Tether's Relationship with Fellowship Comes to Light
Since its high-profile debut last September, the identity of Fellowship PAC's backers has been one of the industry's biggest mysteries.
At its inception, the PAC did not disclose any management personnel, donors, or key employees. Early reports listed Tether as an expected supporter, but Tether International subsequently formally denied any connection to the PAC. According to a CoinDesk report in February, a Tether International spokesperson explicitly stated that "Tether International has no affiliation whatsoever with Fellowship."
But FEC records tell a different story. Fellowship's registered treasurer, Mitchell Nobel, is an executive at Cantor Fitzgerald, the custodian institution managing Tether's multi-billion dollar reserves. The PAC's registered address is in Bethesda, Maryland.
Now, with a current Tether US executive officially taking the helm as PAC chairman, the previous rumors have finally materialized into public record. According to BeInCrypto, this marks the first formal, public association between Fellowship PAC and Tether officially.
Spiro joined Tether in 2024 as Head of Government Affairs. Prior to that, he was responsible for blockchain and digital asset regulatory relations at PayPal, and earlier held a leadership role in government affairs at the on-chain analytics company Chainalysis.
$100 Million 'War Chest' Yet to Fire a Single Shot, FEC Records Show Zero Expenditures
Despite Fellowship's claim of holding $100 million in funds, FEC records show that as of December 31 last year, the PAC reported no donation income or expenditures. Since its announcement last September, Fellowship has posted only three public statements on platform X, operating almost "invisibly."
This discrepancy has raised widespread questions. A CoinDesk investigative report on February 25 pointed out that Fellowship had "never shown up" in the seven months since its founding, with its promised $100 million showing no trace in Federal Election Commission disclosures.
Spiro's appointment is seen as a signal of Fellowship's return to the public eye from its period of dormancy. The PAC stated it will announce its first batch of candidate endorsements in the coming days, with just over seven months remaining until the November midterm elections.
Bo Hines, Executive Director of the White House Digital Asset Advisory Council, expressed support for the appointment on platform X, posting: "The fight for American innovation needs serious advocates. Looking forward to seeing leaders elected who truly understand the stakes."
Crypto PAC Arms Race: Fairshake Holds $193 Million, Already Spent $8.6 Million in Illinois
Fellowship is not the crypto industry's only political funding machine. The 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 the crypto industry's largest super PAC by funding size currently.
Fairshake has already begun taking action. According to Cointelegraph, the PAC and its affiliates have spent approximately $8.6 million on a congressional race in Illinois, six times its spending in the state in 2024. In the Illinois primary in March, some candidates supported by Fairshake did not win, but there is still a seven-month window until the midterm elections.
During the 2024 election cycle, Fairshake spent over $130 million on media placements, with the majority of the more than 50 candidates it supported successfully elected. According to statistics from the non-profit oversight organization Public Citizen, nearly half of all corporate money flowing into the 2024 elections came from the crypto industry.
Now, with the combined nearly $300 million war chest of Fellowship and Fairshake, plus other political donation forces within the crypto industry, the 2026 midterm elections are expected to set a new record for industry political spending.
Legislative Battle: Stablecoin Yield Dispute Stalls CLARITY Act, Tether's Interests at Stake
The timing of Spiro's appointment is not coincidental. The Clarity Act for Digital Asset Markets (CLARITY Act), the crypto industry's most core legislative priority, is currently stalled in the Senate, with one of the points of contention being stablecoin yields, which directly affects Tether's business model.
The CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 by a vote of 294 to 134 and passed review in the Senate Agriculture Committee in January this year. However, at the Senate Banking Committee level, a fierce battle is underway between the banking industry and the crypto industry over whether stablecoins can pay yields to users.
On March 20, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached a principled compromise on stablecoin yields: prohibiting passive yield payments based on holding balances, but allowing reward programs based on transaction activity. According to CoinDesk, after crypto industry representatives reviewed the latest text behind closed doors on Capitol Hill on March 23, they found the language too narrow and ambiguous. Coinbase has stated twice that it does not support the current draft.
The markup in the Senate Banking Committee is currently scheduled for after the Easter recess in late April. Senator Bernie Moreno warned that if the bill does not advance by May, crypto legislation may not receive serious consideration again during the midterm election cycle.
Compounding the issue, White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks confirmed on March 26 that his 130-day term had expired and the administration would not appoint a successor. The crypto industry's most critical legislative sprint will proceed without its chief advocate in the White House.
Tether's USDT 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 a compliant stablecoin for the U.S. market, USAT, last year. The final outcome of the stablecoin yield provisions will directly determine the operating space for Tether and its competitors in the U.S. market.
Against this backdrop, Tether's move to have an executive assume the chairmanship of a PAC shifts its political influence building from behind the scenes to the forefront, sending a clear signal: during the critical window of legislative博弈 (game theory/contest), using political funds to protect industry interests.
