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Following Primary Loss, Crypto PACs Invest $1.5M in 3 US State Races
Two groups affiliated with the cryptocurrency company-backed political action committee (PAC) Fairshake disclosed spending more than $1.5 million on media to support House of Representatives and Senate candidates in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming after suffering a primary loss in Michigan on Tuesday.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings as of Thursday, Fairshake PAC affiliates Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress spent a combined $1.5 million on ads for Republican and Democratic candidates, many of whom voted in favor of the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act while serving in Congress.
In Alaska’s at-large congressional district, scheduled to hold a primary on Aug. 18, Defend American Jobs spent more than $500,000 on media supporting the re-election of Representative Nick Begich. The Super PAC spent about the same amount on Republican candidate Sydney Gruters in Florida’s 16th district, and Representative Harriet Hageman, running for the soon-to-be-vacant Wyoming Senate seat now occupied by Cynthia Lummis. Both US states will also hold primaries on Aug. 18.
The reported expenditures follow a primary loss for a Protect Progress-supported candidate in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. On Tuesday, Democratic incumbent Shri Thanedar lost a primary to State Representative Donavan McKinney after the Super PAC poured more than $2 million into media supporting the former. The final day of Thanedar’s current term in Congress will be in January 2027.
Related: US Senate will vote on CLARITY crypto bill ‘without any question’ this week: Tim Scott
On the Democratic side, Protect Progress reported spending more than $50,000 for the re-election of Lois Frankel in Florida’s 23rd district. Frankel, Begich and Hageman all voted in favor of the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act while serving in Congress, while Gruters did not appear to have made any public statements on crypto or blockchain, with the exception of saying she supported the crypto market structure bill in a questionnaire conducted by the advocacy organization Stand With Crypto.
The expenditures were the latest examples of Fairshake and cryptocurrency industry-aligned groups attempting to influence US elections through media. The Super PAC reported spending more than $170 million in the 2024 US election cycle on House and Senate races, potentially changing the makeup of the current Congress.
CLARITY votes to influence 2026 midterms?
While it was still uncertain as of Thursday whether the US Senate would hold a vote on the CLARITY Act before the chamber broke for a month-long recess, how lawmakers cast their ballots could affect whether the crypto industry actively supports or opposes their re-election bids. All 435 House seats are up for grabs in 2026, as are 33 seats in the US Senate.
In January, Stand With Crypto said that its “primary goal” in 2026 was getting crypto market structure legislation through Congress. The organization’s community director, Mason Lynaugh, told Cointelegraph in November that how lawmakers vote on the bill could impact their re-election chances. Stand With Crypto rates political candidates on a scale of “strongly supports crypto” to “strongly against crypto” depending on their voting records and public statements, which may be used by PACs and organizations deciding where to allocate funds.
Magazine: 10 weirdest things ever tokenized… including farts
Ondo Finance hit by corporate control fight as founder’s mother seeks to oust CEO
According to the complaint, Allman appointed herself to the board, adopted an interim policy allowing ordinary business operations to continue, reaffirmed De Bode as president and requested basic corporate information, including a shareholder list, while expressing a desire to work collaboratively.
The estate said those efforts failed after De Bode and the company’s outside counsel refused to recognize her actions or provide the requested corporate records. Kathleen Allman subsequently expanded the board, appointed new directors and, at a July 24 board meeting, voted to remove De Bode from all company positions while appointing herself chair and interim CEO.
The filings characterize Kathleen Allman’s leadership as transitional rather than permanent, arguing that her objective is to stabilize governance while the board searches for Nathan Allman’s long-term successor and ensure the business continues operating without interruption.
The estate is seeking an expedited ruling because uncertainty over who controls the company could affect contracts, expenditures, equity issuances and other corporate decisions, the filings said.
The court has not ruled on the allegations, and the filings reflect only the estate’s version of events.
The Ondo Board of Directors said in a separate emailed statement that it “remains committed to our founder Nate Allman’s belief that onchain markets are the future of finance. We are focused on serving our community without interruption, and empowering our people to maintain our momentum, as we search for his successor.”
US appellate court mandate affirms Sam Bankman-Fried conviction
Three circuit judges disputed the former FTX CEO’s claims that the defunct crypto exchange’s investors could have been made whole and wouldn’t have experienced any losses.
US Senate Will Vote on CLARITY Crypto Bill ‘Without Any Question’ This Week: Tim Scott
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Tether expands tokenization platform to Saudi Arabia, starting with real estate
Tether, best known for issuing USDT, the world’s most widely used stablecoin, is expanding its push into real-world asset tokenization to bring institutional-grade real estate asset onchain in Saudi Arabia.
The company said Thursday that its tokenization platform, dubbed Hadron, will provide the technology to issue and manage tokenized real estate assets for institutional investors in the country. Tether is teaming up with Saudi partners First Data and fintech company BKN301 on the effort.
The operating model could later expand beyond real estate into energy, infrastructure finance and other real-world assets, the firms said.
The announcement marks Tether’s latest effort to expand beyond stablecoins into tokenization, a fast-growing application of blockchain rails in finance. The firm launched Hadron in 2024 to simplify asset tokenization and is also the issuer of the largest tokenized gold offering, the $2.6 billion XAUT.
Banks and asset managers have increasingly turned to tokenization to represent traditional assets such as money market funds, private credit, real estate and equities on blockchains, arguing the technology can streamline settlement, broaden investor access and improve capital efficiency. Citi projected that the tokenized securities market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030.
Putin Signs Russia Crypto Bill Into Law
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law creating a regulated framework for cryptocurrency markets in the country.
Putin signed bill No. 1194918-8, titled “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights,” into law on Tuesday, according to official records from the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament. The legislation establishes rules for crypto market participants, including exchanges, brokers, custodians and other crypto service providers.
The law requires crypto exchange operators to meet regulatory requirements and join a financial market self-regulatory organization. It limits retail investors to buying approved crypto assets through intermediaries, with an annual cap of 300,000 rubles ($3,700) per intermediary. Qualified investors will be allowed to purchase any cryptocurrency without such restrictions.
The core provisions of the law take effect on Sept. 1, 2026, while some measures, including rules for non-resident digital depositories, will take effect on July 1, 2027. The law also maintains a ban on using crypto assets to pay for goods and services inside Russia.
The State Duma approved the legislation after final readings in late July. Under the law, the Bank of Russia will oversee the regulated crypto market, issue related rules and determine which crypto assets licensed intermediaries can offer.
Related: Russia expands crypto mining ban to Moscow through 2032
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Taurus Brings Crypto Custody Onshore to Meet US Infrastructure Sovereignty Demands
- Taurus is preparing to deploy its HSM-based digital-asset custody platform inside MPCH’s high-security US facilities.
- The arrangement gives banks, custodians and government agencies a domestic hosting option while Taurus retains control of its cryptographic operations.
- It addresses growing demands around infrastructure sovereignty, resilience and data residency.
Taurus is preparing a U.S.-hosted version of its digital-asset custody platform for banks, government agencies and other regulated institutions seeking greater control over where their cryptographic infrastructure operates.
The Swiss financial-technology company will deploy its hardware security module-based platform within facilities operated by MPCH, a New York-based provider of cryptographic infrastructure and managed secure sites.
It offers Taurus a domestic deployment option without transferring control of its private-key technology or cryptographic processes to MPCH.
Under the proposed structure, MPCH will provide a dedicated secured area, physical infrastructure and managed operational services. Taurus will continue operating the HSM technology that generates, stores and uses the cryptographic keys controlling customer assets.
The companies have not disclosed the facilities’ locations, launch date, expected capacity or initial customers.
Domestic Hosting Becomes a Sales Requirement
The partnership reflects a change in how U.S. financial institutions evaluate digital-asset custody providers.
Banks have long been allowed to provide cryptocurrency custody services. More recent guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also confirmed that national banks may outsource permissible crypto activities, including custody and transaction execution, provided they maintain appropriate third-party risk controls.
There is no blanket federal rule requiring all bank custody infrastructure to remain inside the United States.
However, infrastructure location can become a procurement condition for institutions handling sensitive data, government assets or systemically important operations. Federal banking guidance asks institutions to assess the location of third parties, subcontractors and associated data, alongside cybersecurity, disaster recovery and business-continuity arrangements.
That makes domestic hosting commercially important even when it is not explicitly mandated by law.
For Taurus, the MPCH arrangement could reduce a potential barrier when pitching U.S. banks, federal agencies and regulated custodians that are unwilling to place critical signing infrastructure in an overseas facility.
A Defense-Linked Infrastructure Provider
MPCH is a dual-use cryptographic infrastructure company serving financial institutions, blockchain networks and national-security environments.
Its U.S. defense subsidiary, Ti22, is a prime contractor to U.S. Special Operations Command through SOFWERX, according to MPCH. It operates dedicated secure sites, air-gapped recovery systems and managed security operations for institutional and defense clients.
MPCH’s infrastructure combines purpose-built facilities with hardware-backed signing, biometric controls, chain-of-custody records and round-the-clock monitoring. Its sites include geographically separated, air-gapped recovery environments designed to remain isolated from normal network access.
The defense relationship does not mean Taurus’ customers will use classified government infrastructure. It does give Taurus access to an operator whose security model was built for both regulated finance and national-security applications.
“Financial institutions need the flexibility to deploy digital asset infrastructure in a way that meets their specific security, resilience, and regulatory requirements,” Milena Kohlhofer, strategic partnerships executive at Taurus, said in a statement shared with AlexaBlockchain.
“Our collaboration with MPCH will expand the deployment options available to U.S. institutions by combining secure, domestic infrastructure with Taurus’ enterprise-grade custody technology,” Milena added.
Why Does It Matter?
Digital-asset custody is not simply a question of storing cryptocurrency.
The custodian must control the private keys authorizing transactions while preventing attackers, insiders or infrastructure providers from gaining unilateral access. A failure in that control layer can result in assets being transferred irreversibly.
Taurus’ platform supports on-premise, cloud and hybrid deployments and uses HSMs alongside multiparty computation. HSMs place key generation and transaction signing inside tamper-resistant hardware rather than exposing raw private keys to ordinary servers or applications.
The MPCH deployment separates responsibilities further.
MPCH controls the physical perimeter and supporting infrastructure. Taurus retains responsibility for the HSMs and cryptographic operations. Customers can therefore gain domestic infrastructure without handing signing authority to the facility operator.
That division may appeal to institutions seeking to avoid concentrating software, keys, physical custody and operational control with one provider.
Banks Are Moving From Tests to Production
Taurus has already demonstrated that its technology can be embedded inside the infrastructure of a large U.S. custodian.
In 2025, State Street established a production environment using Taurus technology within a year of announcing their partnership. The deployment included blockchain connectors and HSM integration for a private permissioned network.
State Street also connected Taurus’ custody and tokenization platforms to a Hyperledger Besu network and began rolling out tokenization initiatives. The bank said the architecture could support tokenized funds, securities and digital settlement instruments.
The MPCH arrangement addresses a different part of the adoption process.
Rather than adding new asset or tokenization capabilities, it gives Taurus another way to satisfy physical-security, infrastructure-residency and operational-resilience requirements during institutional procurement.
That could help Taurus compete with U.S.-regulated custodians and infrastructure providers that already market domestic operations as part of their compliance offering.
Preparing for New Cryptographic Standards
Taurus and MPCH are also positioning the infrastructure as a foundation for eventually adopting post-quantum cryptography.
Quantum computers capable of breaking today’s widely used public-key algorithms do not yet exist at the required scale. Institutions nevertheless face lengthy testing, certification and systems-integration cycles before changing the cryptography used in critical infrastructure.
NIST finalized its first three post-quantum cryptography standards in August 2024, including two standards for digital signatures and one for establishing shared encryption keys. The agency has urged organizations to begin preparing for migration.
Taurus said compatible HSMs could allow institutions to introduce supported post-quantum signature methods through firmware and certification upgrades rather than replacing the entire custody architecture.
“A controlled environment for HSM-based infrastructure, together with Taurus’ cryptographic agility, gives institutions a stronger foundation to prepare for future post-quantum migration while retaining control over their cryptographic operations and custody environment,” Kohlhofer said.
That remains a future capability for now.
The more immediate value of the partnership is simpler: Taurus can offer U.S. institutions a domestically hosted custody environment while keeping control of the cryptographic machinery that ultimately controls their digital assets.
The above article “Taurus Brings Crypto Custody Onshore to Meet US Infrastructure Sovereignty Demands” was first published on AlexaBlockchain. Read the complete article here: https://alexablockchain.com/taurus-brings-crypto-custody-onshore-to-meet-us-infrastructure-sovereignty-demands/
Read Also: This is the First U.S.-Chartered Depository Bank to Offer Stablecoin Invoicing
Disclaimer: The information provided on AlexaBlockchain is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Read complete disclaimer here.
Blockchain.com wins Cayman custody license after MiCA and FCA approvals
Blockchain.com secured a VASP custody license from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, expanding its regulated crypto services in the region.
Hyperliquid ETF demand cools as competition heats up: JPMorgan
Inflows into Hyperliquid (HYPE) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have largely ground to a halt after surging in May and June, reflecting growing concerns over the protocol’s competitive outlook, according to Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM).
The bank said Hyperliquid ETFs led non-bitcoin crypto funds in inflows relative to assets under management in May and June, though that momentum faded in July and early August.
“We see significant challenges to the market share of decentralized platforms such as Hyperliquid,” analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a Thursday report.
Hyperliquid has been one of crypto’s biggest breakout stories this year, with its HYPE token surging as traders flocked to the protocol’s decentralized perpetual futures exchange.
The rapid growth has turned Hyperliquid into one of the largest crypto ecosystems outside bitcoin and ether, attracting institutional capital, corporate treasury buyers and ETF issuers.
According to JPMorgan analysts, the cooling demand comes as decentralized derivatives platforms face mounting competition from regulated centralized exchanges.
The report said the rollout of U.S.-regulated crypto perpetual futures products could shift trading activity away from offshore decentralized venues such as Hyperliquid, which remain exposed to concerns around licensing, compliance and investor protections.