Crypto PAC Fellowship Spends $3M Supporting Pro-Crypto Candidates, Mostly for Texas' Ken Paxton

The crypto-aligned Fellowship political action committee (PAC), led by stablecoin issuer Tether's head of government affairs, reported spending more than $3 million on advertising related to US Senate and House races, with the majority going toward to support a Texas Republican candidate. In a Tuesday filing with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), Fellowship PAC disclosed that it had spent $1.75 million in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Republican is facing off against incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a May 26 runoff to determine who will become the party's candidate for the 2026 US Senate race. In addition to Paxton, the PAC reported spending $350,000 on advertising for Mike Collins in Georgia's Senate race, $350,000 on Barry Moore in Alabama's Senate race, and $250,000 and $350,000 on Blake Miguez and Julia Letlow, respectively, for House and Senate races in Louisiana. All expenditures went through the Nxum Group, a marketing company co-founded by former White House crypto adviser and Tether US CEO Bo Hines. Fellowship launched in September, claiming to have more than $100 million from undisclosed investors aligned with the crypto industry. Although the PAC has since reported $11 million in contributions to the FEC, no other filings or public records showed backers associated with crypto. Crypto-backed PACs like Fellowship and Fairshake are expected to influence the results of the 2026 US midterm elections through spending on media and advertising to support candidates they consider "pro-crypto." Fairshake and its affiliates reported spending more than $131 million in 2024, possibly influencing voters in key battleground states. Paxton's time as Texas Attorney General was plagued by corruption allegations, leading to his impeachment in the state's House of Representatives in 2023 — he was later acquitted by the Texas Senate. Either Paxton or Cornyn will likely face off against Democratic candidate James Talarico in November's US Senate election. On Wednesday, prediction markets platform Kalshi announced financial penalties and bans on three candidates in Minnesota, Texas and Virginia after they were found to have placed bets on their respective races. The Texas candidate, Ezekiel Enriquez, "purchased less than $100 worth of contracts related to his own candidacy" for Texas' 21st Congressional District, according to Kalshi. "Under the terms of the settlement, Kalshi suspended Enriquez from direct or indirect access to Kalshi for a period of 5 years and imposed a financial penalty of $784.20," said the company.