The Fellowship Political Action Committee (PAC), which started out claiming to have more than $100 million from cryptocurrency supporters, has reportedly pulled out of an advertising deal aimed at supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a key U.S. Senate race.
According to a Thursday report from Axios, the leader of the Republican Party I contacted you U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on his ties to the Fellowship, which was funded in part by Cantor Fitzgerald.
Lutnick, as a former chairman and CEO whose sons now lead the financial services company, has reportedly faced questioning from Republicans over Fellowship’s support for Paxton, whose PAC on Tuesday reported spending $1.75 million on endorsement ads.
Fellowship PAC spending report on Ken Paxton. Source: FEC
According to reports, the advertising expenses that Fellowship disclosed to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) through marketing firm Nxum Group were never disclosed. On Friday, the FEC statement showing $1.75 million in spending was still public. Cointelegraph reached out to Fellowship for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
A cryptocurrency-backed PAC like Fellowship withdrawing its endorsement of a candidate in a U.S. Senate race, likely in response to pressure from Republican leaders, is quite unusual. Political action committees with ties to digital assets support candidates on both sides of the aisle who they consider pro-cryptocurrencies.
In addition to Fellowship, PACs like Fairshake and others are expected to collectively spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the U.S. midterm elections after they donate money to ads for 2024 candidates to influence voters.
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Paxton, who failed to win outright in the March primary against Sen. John Cornyn, will face the Republican incumbent in a runoff before the November general election on May 26. Whichever Republican wins the majority of the vote will likely face Democrat James Talarico in the race for one of Texas’ U.S. Senate seats.
Crypto entities are calling for action in the Senate on the Market Structure Act
Republicans have held a slim majority in the US Senate since January 2025, which has led to the passage of the Stable Coin Act, the GENIUS Act, and consideration of other cryptocurrency legislation. However, if Democrats gain majority control of the chamber in the 2026 midterm elections, it could change how the Senate approaches cryptocurrency regulations.
From July 2025, the Senate is considering the draft bill on the structure of the cryptocurrency market, which is expected to be one of the most comprehensive legal acts affecting the industry. Delays, partly due to government shutdowns, ethical concerns and questions about the viability of stablecoins, have persisted for months, and a vote on the bill has not been scheduled in the full chamber.
On Thursday, over 120 entities related to the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry called on the leaders of the Senate Banking Committee to stop delaying work on the market structure bill, the CLARITY Act. The committee will need to maintain markup on the bill before the Senate can potentially schedule a vote.
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