A crypto-focused political spending wave is targeting Florida’s 24th congressional district primary, with a PAC affiliate of Fairshake investing more than $2 million in ads attacking Democratic frontrunner Oliver Gilbert. The development underscores how digital-asset policy is increasingly intertwined with mainstream political races ahead of key votes in Congress.

According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records filed as of Tuesday, Protect Progress PAC—an affiliate linked to the political action committee Fairshake and funded primarily by Coinbase and Ripple Labs—has spent more than $2 million on media opposing Gilbert in Florida’s 24th district. The record also highlights that, before the PAC’s ads were released, none of the candidates in the Democratic primary appeared to have taken a prominent public stance on digital assets within their campaigns.

Key takeaways

• FEC filings show Protect Progress PAC spent over $2 million on ads opposing Democratic primary candidate Oliver Gilbert in Florida’s 24th district.
• The PAC is affiliated with Fairshake, which has been funded primarily by Coinbase and Ripple Labs.
• Oliver Gilbert’s campaign has faced accusations that the ads are designed to influence the primary rather than debate digital-asset policy substantively.
• Protect Progress and Fairshake-affiliated groups are also spending across multiple races, including additional Florida contests.
• Congressional legislative momentum for digital-asset bills like the CLARITY Act remains an external pressure point as lawmakers return from recess.

How Protect Progress entered the Florida primary

Protect Progress PAC’s spending in Florida’s 24th district comes as the seat currently held by Representative Frederica Wilson becomes a focal point. Wilson endorsed Oliver Gilbert at a June 22 event, according to reporting referenced by Cointelegraph.

Wilson’s congressional record on digital assets has drawn attention. She voted against the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act while serving in Congress—positions that align with the broader legislative agenda championed by crypto industry advocates.

In the Democratic primary race, State Senator Shevrin Jones—who had been ahead of Gilbert in an early August poll, as noted by Florida Politics—completed a questionnaire with the advocacy organization Stand With Crypto. That submission earned him a “strongly supports” rating from the group, per information on Stand With Crypto’s politician page.

The Protect Progress ads reportedly framed Gilbert’s candidacy in terms of digital-asset politics, with Gilbert accusing the operation of being driven by wealthy allies of former President Donald Trump. The ads included fake Miami Herald-style headlines that were not tied to specific digital-asset policy positions, according to reporting referenced in the article.

Fairshake affiliates expand spending beyond one race

Protect Progress is only part of a larger network of activity connected to Fairshake and its related political committees. The article notes that Fairshake reported a $193 million war chest as of January, and it has deployed funds through affiliates to support both Democratic and Republican candidates for the 2026 midterm elections.

Cointelegraph reported that, as of June, the PACs had already poured more than $82 million into primaries and special elections to influence voters through advertising. That level of spending indicates that digital-asset political outreach has moved beyond a single targeted campaign, with resources being deployed across multiple competitive contests.

Protect Progress also put additional money into Florida’s 23rd district. The PAC spent more than $150,000 on media supporting the re-election of Lois Frankel, according to the same reporting context. Meanwhile, Defend American Jobs—another Fairshake-affiliated committee—reported a combined $1.5 million on ads backing candidates in Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming.

Those races include support for Representative Nick Begich in Alaska’s at-large district, Republican candidate Sydney Gruters in Florida’s 16th district, and Representative Harriet Hageman for one of the US Senate seats representing Wyoming, as described in the article.

Why these ads matter to crypto investors and policy watchers

Even when campaign spending appears localized, its implications often extend to broader regulatory outcomes. Digital-asset policy in the US has frequently advanced through legislative bargaining, where the credibility of candidates on specific bills can influence committee dynamics and future priorities after elections.

The mention of CLARITY and GENIUS is important because it frames the ads as more than generic political marketing. CLARITY and GENIUS are positioned in the article as central legislative efforts affecting how digital assets could be regulated and how stablecoins might be treated under US law. For investors and developers, the practical question is not just who wins, but who is likely to support or oppose the next wave of digital-asset legislation once Congress moves again.

FEC filings also suggest an asymmetry that political observers may find meaningful: if none of the Democratic primary candidates had clearly established a strong digital-asset platform before the ads, the PAC’s messaging can effectively determine the issue salience for voters. That creates a strategic incentive for industry-aligned groups to influence primary outcomes early—particularly when general election dynamics are harder to predict.

What to watch next as lawmakers return

The immediate next milestone highlighted in the article is the legislative calendar. Both the US House and Senate are on recess until September, when the Senate is expected to hold a vote on the CLARITY Act. As that timeline approaches, the interaction between political spending and digital-asset voting becomes even more consequential.

Readers should watch how these Florida primary outcomes affect candidate momentum heading into November and whether further PAC spending narrows the policy debate to specific digital-asset bills—especially as Congress prepares to advance CLARITY and related measures.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new rules that could affect the cryptocurrency industry after lawmakers in Congress failed to pass a market structure bill before breaking for a month-long recess.

In a Tuesday notice, the SEC said that the agency proposed rules to create a “clear and fit-for-purpose framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets.” According to the regulator, the “tailored securities offering regime” would allow entities to raise capital while preserving investor protections.

The agency’s rules did not include an “innovation exemption” for crypto-based stocks, which had also been expected to be announced. Notably, the proposed rules came just days after the US Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, a bill expected to clarify the roles federal agencies would have in overseeing and regulating crypto. 

“[L]egislation remains indispensable to enacting ‘future-proofed’ rules of the road that are durable enough to protect the work we are undertaking today from being unwound by a future rogue regulator,” said SEC Chair Paul Atkins. “The SEC has and will continue to support Congress in delivering the CLARITY Act to President Trump’s desk.”

According to the proposed rules, crypto companies would be offered exemptions allowing the issuance of up to $5 million in tokens during a four-year period and up to $75 million during a 12-month period, as well as a safe harbor exempting cryptocurrencies from being treated as ”investment contracts.” Token issuers would be required to make financial statements and “would be subject to ongoing reporting requirements.“

The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal after publication in the Federal Register.

Related: CLARITY or not, crypto isn’t going back in the bottle: Bitwise

The SEC’s proposed rules in the absence of legislation from Congress came ahead of a scheduled Thursday meeting of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on crypto, AI and prediction markets. The commodities regulator said it planned to address “areas where regulatory action can complement future congressional legislation.”

Atkins had been scheduled to speak at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on Tuesday, but canceled amid the SEC announcement. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said at the event that US regulators would “let loose” on crypto regulation if Congress was unable to move forward on the CLARITY Act.

CLARITY’s chances before a new Congress is sworn in?

Before the Senate broke for its August state work periods, Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on a motion to take up the CLARITY crypto bill when lawmakers return in mid-September.

Following the August recess, senators only have 14 days in session before breaking again ahead of the November election. If Thune and Republican lawmakers can’t get a floor vote before then, the Senate has another 22 days in session before 2027, when new members of Congress will be sworn in.

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An affiliate of political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, funded primarily by Coinbase and Ripple Labs, has poured more than $2 million into media opposing a Democratic candidate who did not appear to have taken any prominent position on digital assets before the ads were released.

According to records with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as of Tuesday, the Protect Progress PAC had spent more than $2 million on ads opposing Democratic candidate Oliver Gilbert in Florida’s 24th congressional district. Notably, no candidate in the Democratic primary appeared to have taken a strong position on digital assets as part of their campaigns before the PAC’s involvement.

The Democratic candidate is running for the seat currently occupied by Representative Frederica Wilson, who, in addition to voting against the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act and Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act while serving in Congress, endorsed Gilbert. Shevrin Jones, a Florida state senator and Democratic candidate who was ahead of Gilbert in an early August poll, has completed a questionnaire with Stand With Crypto, earning him a “strongly supports” rating from the advocacy organization.

Gilbert reportedly said “[Donald] Trump’s tech billionaire buddies” were behind the “crypto con artists trying to buy a Democratic primary” through the ads, which included fake Miami Herald headlines unrelated to digital asset policy. Wilson endorsed Gilbert at a June 22 event. Cointelegraph reached out to Gilbert’s campaign for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

“The facts are the facts, and, as the Miami Herald stated, the underlying facts in our ad are true,” a Fairshake spokesperson told Cointelegraph. He did not comment on reason for the PAC expenditures.

Fairshake reported holding a $193 million war chest as of January, which it has used through affiliates like Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs to support Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively, for races in the 2026 midterm elections. As of June, the PAC had already poured more than $82 million into primaries and special elections to influence voters through ads.

Related: Crypto PAC pours another $1M into Michigan House race

Primary races to impact party control in 2027

On Tuesday, voters in Alaska, California, Florida and Wyoming will decide on congressional candidates to face off in the general election in November. 

The Protect Progress PAC has also spent more than $150,000 on media supporting the re-election of Lois Frankel in Florida’s 23rd district. Defend American Jobs reported a combined $1.5 million on ads in favor of Representative Nick Begich in Alaska’s at-large congressional district, Republican candidate Sydney Gruters in Florida’s 16th district and Representative Harriet Hageman for one of the US Senate seats representing Wyoming.

The 2026 primary races will help determine whether Democrats retake control of the US House of Representatives and Senate starting in the next session of Congress in January, or Republicans remain the majority. Both chambers are on recess until September, when the Senate is expected to hold a vote on the CLARITY Act.

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Interstice Digital has launched a non-custodial cross-chain swap engine intended to move tokenized assets between the Canton institutional blockchain and major public networks, including Ethereum and Solana, with support for Robinhood Chain. The company says the system is designed so Interstice does not take custody of users’ funds and does not submit transactions on their behalf.

Instead, the announcement highlights FalconX, a digital asset prime brokerage for institutional clients, as the liquidity provider behind the engine. Interstice frames the integration as a way to connect Canton’s institutional tokenization activity with on-chain liquidity and trading access on public blockchains.

Key takeaways

• Interstice’s cross-chain swap engine is described as non-custodial, with users retaining control rather than Interstice executing trades.
• FalconX is positioned as the liquidity layer supporting swaps between Canton and public networks such as Ethereum and Solana.
• Canton is built for regulated, institutional use, with privacy and permissioning controls aimed at compliant tokenized settlement.
• The launch does not specify which assets are supported initially or provide usage or transaction-volume figures.

A non-custodial route between Canton and public liquidity

According to Interstice’s Tuesday announcement, the swap engine is intended to enable asset transfers across four networks: Canton, Ethereum, Solana, and Robinhood Chain. The core promise is operational: swaps can be performed without Interstice taking custody of assets or acting as the direct transaction executor for users.

For institutions and tokenization platforms, that distinction matters because custody and execution control can shape risk management requirements, compliance reviews, and operational workflows. While the announcement confirms Interstice’s role is limited to providing the infrastructure, it does not disclose further implementation details such as the exact mechanism by which routing and execution occur or which asset types are immediately supported.

FalconX’s involvement is central to Interstice’s approach. The prime brokerage is described as providing liquidity for the engine, with the stated aim of giving users a path between tokenized assets on Canton and liquidity available on public chains. In practice, this kind of integration can reduce friction for moving exposure between an institutional settlement environment and the broader, liquid ecosystems of public blockchains—particularly where counterparties and market makers operate primarily outside permissioned networks.

Canton’s institutional positioning is expanding

Canton is a public blockchain built with institutional finance in mind, featuring privacy and permissioning controls for regulated transactions and tokenized assets. Interstice’s announcement connects the swap engine to this broader Canton narrative: bringing more access to tokenized assets and settlement while enabling interaction with the trading activity of public chains.

The ecosystem has already attracted traditional financial institutions. The article notes that Canton’s partners include major banks and market participants such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and BNP Paribas.

Interstice’s integration arrives alongside additional signals that institutional tokenization activity on Canton is accelerating. In July, electronic trading platform Tradeweb executed an onchain US Treasury trade on Canton, according to earlier coverage. The described transaction involved Franklin Templeton transferring a tokenized Treasury security to Virtu Financial in exchange for tokenized cash. Tradeweb said it was the first real-time purchase and sale of a tokenized US Treasury settled against USDCx—a USDC-backed stablecoin issued on Canton—with other participants including Societe Generale, Digital Asset, and Blockdaemon. Tradeweb’s role was execution and price discovery, while Canton synchronized settlement between the two tokenized assets in real time.

Additional deployments mentioned in the coverage include Societe Generale’s euro- and dollar-denominated stablecoins on Canton for tokenized collateral, repo financing, and institutional settlement. Separate reporting also indicates Visa has tested private stablecoin settlement on the network, and other efforts include a Japanese government bond collateral pilot involving Mizuho and Nomura, along with S&P Dow Jones Indices placing its iBoxx US Treasuries Index on Canton.

Why the swap engine matters for tokenized markets

Cross-chain capability is increasingly important to institutional tokenization because value often needs to move between different environments—permissioned settlement rails on one side and public-chain trading venues on the other. Interstice’s swap engine is designed specifically to address that gap by providing a “route” between Canton tokenized assets and liquidity on chains like Ethereum and Solana.

The announcement’s non-custodial framing also reflects a practical concern for regulated users: who controls assets during exchange. Even when cross-chain tools are technically capable, the operational control model can be a deal-breaker for institutions that must satisfy internal risk committees. By stating that Interstice does not hold custody and does not execute transactions on users’ behalf, the company is signaling a reduced intermediary role compared with custodial bridge designs.

Still, readers should note what remains missing from the public description. Interstice did not disclose which assets are supported at launch, and it did not provide transaction volume figures. Those details can heavily influence how quickly liquidity fragments or how the system behaves under real market conditions, especially if initial support is limited to a small set of tokenized instruments or stablecoins.

Another factor to watch is how liquidity provided through FalconX translates into effective pricing and routing across chains. While the announcement confirms FalconX is supplying liquidity, it does not specify whether the liquidity model is tied to specific market makers, whether swaps are routed through particular venues on public networks, or how spreads may vary depending on supported pairs.

What to watch next

The next checkpoints are likely to be practical rather than theoretical: which assets Interstice supports first on the engine, how users integrate it into existing Canton workflows, and whether the system expands institutional tokenization’s reach into public-chain liquidity without introducing new operational complexity. For now, the launch adds another infrastructure layer to Canton’s institutional ecosystem—but the market will want clarity on real-world usage and supported token coverage.

Interstice Digital has launched a cross-chain swap engine with FalconX connecting the Canton Network with Ethereum, Solana and Robinhood Chain. 

According to Tuesday’s announcement, the non-custodial engine allows assets to be swapped across the four networks without Interstice taking custody or executing transactions on users’ behalf. 

FalconX, a digital asset prime brokerage serving institutional investors, provides liquidity for the engine, which is designed to connect Canton’s institutional markets with assets and trading activity on public blockchains, giving users a route between tokenized assets on Canton and liquidity on networks such as Ethereum and Solana.

Canton is a public blockchain built for institutional finance, with privacy and permissioning controls designed for regulated transactions and tokenized assets. Its ecosystem includes major financial institutions such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas.

Interstice is a wholly owned subsidiary of Everyrealm and is backed by investors including a16z Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Galaxy and Brevan Howard. The company did not disclose which assets are initially supported or provide transaction volume figures for the swap engine.

Related: FalconX cuts 10% of workforce amid prolonged crypto market slump: Report

Canton expands institutional tokenization activity

The integration comes as more traditional financial institutions use Canton for tokenized assets and blockchain-based settlement.

In July, electronic trading platform Tradeweb executed an onchain US Treasury trade in which Franklin Templeton transferred a tokenized Treasury security to Virtu Financial in exchange for tokenized cash.

Tradeweb provided execution and price discovery, while Canton synchronized settlement between the two assets in real time. Tradeweb said it was the first real-time purchase and sale of a tokenized US Treasury settled against USDCx, a USDC-backed stablecoin issued on Canton, with other participants including Societe Generale, Digital Asset and Blockdaemon.

Societe Generale has also deployed its euro- and dollar-denominated stablecoins on Canton for tokenized collateral, repo financing and institutional settlement, while Visa has tested private stablecoin settlement on the network.

Other initiatives include a Japanese government bond collateral pilot involving Mizuho and Nomura and S&P Dow Jones Indices placing its iBoxx US Treasuries Index on Canton.

PoC trial for digital collateral management using Japanese government bonds. Source: JPX

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