Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the well-established companies in the US-based finance world, has taken an important step to support candidates who are positive about crypto assets in the upcoming election period. The company donated $10 million to Fellowship PAC in February. This donation, announced according to Federal Election Commission records, shows that Wall Street’s interest in the crypto sector is increasing. Cantor Fitzgerald is today run by the sons of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was previously a senior executive at the company.
The rise of Fellowship PAC and the crypto lobby
Founded in September last year, Fellowship PAC has already reached over $100 million in committed funding. The main goal of this formation is to provide strong support to candidates who advocate transparent and predictable legal regulations for digital assets. Finally, this month, Jesse Spiro, one of the US executives of Tether, the leading name in the stablecoin market, was appointed as the chairman of the PAC. Thus, it was once again revealed how effective the important actors in the crypto ecosystem can be in these lobbying activities.
Fellowship PAC contributed millions of dollars to crypto advocates in last year’s elections. In addition, this lobbying movement, which also includes Fairshake, another important PAC, with $193 million in reserves as of January, increases the industry’s influence in Washington.
Legal regulation and industry attitude
While the importance of regulations in the crypto industry was emphasized, the crypto bank Anchorage Digital also donated $ 1 million to Fellowship PAC. In the statement made on behalf of Anchorage Digital, the following statements attracted attention:
“As the first federally licensed crypto bank, we believe crypto and informed regulation complement each other. We will continue our commitment to transparent and enforceable rules in our engagements with both Democrats and Republicans.”
The recent intensification of talks with lawmakers regarding crypto indicates that the sector is being closely monitored by both the Republican and Democratic wings. The ongoing cooperation between Cantor Fitzgerald and Tether since 2021 also shows the evolution of the sector’s corporate relations.
Tether’s US move and advertising support for candidates
At the beginning of the year, after the US Congress enacted the stablecoin regulation, Tether launched its stablecoin called USAT for the US market. Anchorage is the issuer of USAT, and Cantor Fitzgerald undertakes the custody and custody of its reserves.
In the run-up to the election, Fellowship PAC spent over $1 million in total advertising, pushing Republican candidates like Nate Morris of Kentucky, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Clay Fuller of Georgia. The company called Nxum Group, where these advertising activities are managed, stands out as an organization of which Tether.US CEO Bo Hines is one of the partners. Hines is a person who previously served as a White House advisor in the field of digital assets.
Tether and Cantor Fitzgerald did not make an official statement about the developments. However, the dynamism in the crypto industry around financing, lobbying and regulation seems to leave its mark on the upcoming election process.
