An affiliate of the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, which was responsible for pouring more than $130 million in ads and media in the 2024 election cycle, is supporting at least one candidate in Tuesday’s primary in Massachusetts.According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records as of Tuesday, the Protect Progress PAC, a Fairshake affiliate, spent just over $189,000 on media to support Representative Jake Auchincloss running for reelection in Massachusetts’ 4th congressional district. Some of the funds, according to Democratic candidate Jason Poulos, were used to create “AI-generated slop mailers” supporting Auchincloss ahead of the Massachusetts primary, scheduled for Tuesday.In an Aug. 16 letter, Poulos called on the Democratic lawmaker to “publicly renounce” Protect Progress’ efforts to potentially influence the primary and general election. The candidate claimed Auchincloss had accepted $77,500 directly from “crypto-industry sources” since 2020, pointing to the Massachusetts lawmaker’s record in voting for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in July 2025 — a market structure bill not signed into law as it awaits consideration in the Senate.Protect Progress PAC mailer supporting Jake Auchincloss. Source: Jason PoulosThe $189,000 in spending marked Fairshake’s latest attempt to influence the 2026 elections through media and ads unrelated to candidates’ positions on crypto and blockchain. After the PAC and its affiliates spent about $3.6 million on House and Senate races in Alaska, Florida and Wyoming in August, Fairshake reported having $122 million cash on hand ahead of the 2026 midterms.“With dozens of wins in House and Senate races across the country, and $122 million ready for the fall, we’re not slowing down heading into November,“ Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter said in August.Massachusetts will be one of the last US states to hold primaries, with just over two months until the general election. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware are all scheduled to hold primaries in September.Related: Kalshi issues first lifetime ban for Republican politician over insider betsCointelegraph 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.

Binance is expanding further into traditional finance by launching options trading on more than 1,000 US stocks and exchange-traded funds for eligible users outside the United States.The options will be offered through Binance’s Abu Dhabi-regulated broker-dealer, Nest Trading, with orders routed to US-registered Alpaca Securities for execution, clearing, settlement and custody.The launch builds on Binance’s existing equities offering of more than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs and adds to a growing lineup of traditional financial products available through the platform.Unlike equity-linked perpetual futures, the options are physically settled, meaning users who exercise them receive or deliver the underlying shares.According to Binance, the expansion comes as trading in traditional financial products on the platform has accelerated, with TradFi perpetual futures volume reaching about $433 billion in August, roughly 15 times January’s total.Related: Binance says employees questioned in UAE cleared and releasedTokenized stock market surges as exchanges expand offeringsAs crypto exchanges and traditional brokerages expand into tokenized equities, the onchain stock market has expanded sharply over the past year.Tokenized stocks now have about $2.6 billion in distributed value, up from roughly $346 million at the same time last year, according to RWA.xyz data. Monthly transfer volume has also climbed 93% over the past 30 days to $25.1 billion, while the number of holders has surged 157% to nearly 2.5 million.The value of tokenized stocks. Source: RWA.xyzLast week, Coinbase brought its B20 tokenized equities to Base, giving eligible non-US users 24/7 access to onchain versions of stocks including Apple, Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet. The assets can also be integrated into DeFi protocols for uses such as trading and collateralized borrowing.Kraken also pushed deeper into equities in August, opening access to more than 7,000 US-listed stocks for eligible European customers and placing them alongside its growing lineup of tokenized xStocks.In July, US online brokerage Robinhood launched Robinhood Chain alongside a new generation of Stock Tokens available to eligible users in more than 120 countries.Magazine: Mystery surrounds why an OG burned $1M in Bitcoin

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed overhauling decades-old rules governing transfer agents as blockchain-based recordkeeping and tokenized securities become more prominent in US markets.The proposal would update requirements covering registration, recordkeeping, safeguarding and securities transfers, while introducing new rules aimed at risks emerging from increasingly digital and automated market infrastructure.“Market participants are actively seeking to bring blockchain-native, or ‘onchain’ transfer agents into the U.S. market,” the SEC said, pointing to models for blockchain-based recordkeeping, tokenized fund administration and cross-chain interoperability.The agency said its existing framework does not adequately address those developments, particularly risks involving cybersecurity, operational resilience and the safeguarding of securities and investor records.Under the proposal, transfer agents would face expanded reporting requirements and new compliance standards, including rules governing restrictive legends on securities and the use of third-party service providers.SEC’s proposed Transfer Agent Rules. Source: SECThe SEC said its transfer agent rules have not been substantively updated since the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the industry still relied heavily on paper certificates and manual recordkeeping.The regulatory agency is seeking public comment on the proposed changes, with comments due 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.Related: CFTC chair says agency will move forward on crypto regulation if CLARITY failsSEC pursues broader securities rule changesThe SEC is “on a mission to simplify its rules,” according to analysis from law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel sent to clients on Tuesday.In May, the SEC proposed three major changes to public-company rules. The proposals would allow companies to opt for semiannual reporting, simplify the existing filer classification system and expand access to streamlined registered securities offerings.Last week, the SEC sent a proposed overhaul of custody rules for investment advisers and investment companies to the White House for review, with potential changes covering how firms hold crypto assets for clients. The changes could provide clearer standards for how investment advisers and funds custody digital assets while complying with federal securities rules.Magazine: Does the Bitcoin rally mean we haven’t wasted our lives in crypto?

Prediction market platform Kalshi announced action against US House of Representatives candidate Laurie Buckhout and ousted Republican lawmaker George Santos over using insider information for trading on event contracts, in one of the first lifetime bans the company has imposed since its launch in 2021. In separate notices of settlement of disciplinary action announced on Friday, Kalshi’s compliance department said it had permanently suspended Santos from trading on the prediction markets platform and imposed a $71,356 penalty. Buckhout received a three-year suspension and a $2,590 penalty.Both restrictions by Kalshi were made in response to investigations into Santos and Buckhout trading using event contracts that could be manipulated by their own actions. According to the platform, Buckhout, running in North Carolina’s 1st congressional district, “announced her candidacy for public office and was added as a market option for a contract on a North Carolina Congressional election,” while Santos “engaged in trading activity in certain markets related to his attendance at the State of the Union address” in February 2026.“If a Trader is a decision maker, either directly or indirectly, or has any influence, directly or indirectly, no matter the scale and importance of the influence, on the outcome of the Underlying event of any Contract, that Trader is prohibited from attempting to enter into any trade, either directly or indirectly, on the market in such Contracts,” state Kalshi’s rules.The actions by the company represented a significant crackdown at a time when prediction market platforms are under scrutiny by state and federal lawmakers over claims that many of the event contracts are susceptible to manipulation. President Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, was fined $172,000 by federal regulators after trading event contracts on Kalshi related to Trump’s speeches. While Kalshi’s compliance department reported that Buckhout “cooperated with the inquiry” and agreed to the three-year trading ban and penalty, the platform made no such statement in Santos’ case suggesting that the former US lawmaker had cooperated with its investigation. Related: Trump teleprompter operator made $100K betting on Kalshi markets tied to speeches: ABCBuckhout remains the Republican candidate for North Carolina’s 1st congressional district in the 2026 midterm elections, while Santos, formerly a representative for New York’s 3rd congressional district, was expelled from Congress in December 2023 amid fraud allegations.In response to the settlement, Santos said in a Monday X post that Kalshi was an “unserious company.” Buckhout reportedly called her actions betting on her own congressional race a “dumb mistake.”As of Tuesday, Kalshi still listed event contracts related to the outcome of Buckhout’s North Carolina race, giving Democratic incumbent Don Davis a 63% chance over the Republican’s 41%.Event contract for Laurie Buckhout in North Carolina House race. Source: KalshiCFTC taps emergency authority in fed-state prediction markets legal battle Kalshi and other prediction market platforms like Polymarket face several lawsuits filed by individual US state gaming authorities over allegations the companies are facilitating illegal bets on sporting events. At the same time, the sole commissioner and chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Michael Selig, claims that the agency has “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets and vowed to take legal action against any state authority challenging this position.Last month, the CFTC, in a rare move, invoked emergency authority opposing the state of New York attempting to bar Kalshi from offering contracts tied to sports, elections and other events.Magazine: Does the Bitcoin rally mean we haven’t wasted our lives in crypto?