Crypto-backed Super PAC Shifts Funding to Democratic Candidates via Former Trump Adviser’s Firm

The Fellowship PAC, a crypto-industry super PAC that originally pledged to support Republican candidates, has spent $600,000 since the summer on three Democratic officeholders: Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. All payments were made through Nxum Group, a firm co-founded by Bo Hines, a former Trump administration official who later became CEO of Tether’s U.S. branch.

Hines, who helped craft stablecoin regulations benefiting Tether, claims only a passive investment in Nxum Group, and the firm says he was not involved in its work for the PAC. Fellowship PAC’s funding includes a $10 million contribution from Tether’s U.S. banking affiliate Cantor Fitzgerald and a chairmanship held by Tether’s vice president of regulatory affairs. The PAC’s reported cash dwindled to $250,000 as of October 14, and it has not filed any receipts since January. The three Democrats are rated as strong crypto allies and have publicly criticized Trump’s meme-coin venture, though their races are not contested strongly in the upcoming midterms.