Affiliate entities of Fairshake, the US political action committee (PAC) funded largely by contributions from investment banking company Cantor Fitzgerald, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Ripple Labs, reported millions of dollars worth of ad buys to support candidates they considered in favor of pro-digital asset policy with the country’s midterm elections less than a month away.On Saturday, filings with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) showed a combined $2.7 million in spending on media by the Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress PACs. The two Fairshake affiliates reported expenditures on media and direct mail productions to support Democratic and Republican candidates running for US House of Representatives seats in 2026.The expenditures included more than $76,000 for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, $73,000 for House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, $512,000 for California Representative Pete Aguilar and $500,000 for New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer. The FEC reports followed Fairshake announcing just days earlier that it planned to endorse an additional 32 House candidates in 2026, including six to each receive $1 million in supportive media. None of the aforementioned six were included in the Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress expenditures, but some incumbents were on the list, including Emmer, Aguilar, Gottheimer, and Thompson.As of August, a Fairshake spokesperson said the PAC had $122 million in cash on hand as part of its midterm election strategy of attempting to get more “pro-crypto” candidates in Congress. This strategy includes opposing the election of former banking committee chair Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s Senate race with at least $30 million allocated for media buys. While in office, Brown was one of the leading Democrats voting against many bills considered favorable to the crypto industry.Related: Vivek Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial run lacks the crypto rhetoric of his presidential bidCrypto market structure bill to be a factor in 2026 midterms?All the targets of the Fairshake spending voted for the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in 2025, a bill intended to set market structure rules for the cryptocurrency industry, including giving the federal commodities regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, more authority to oversee and enforce regulations. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support but failed to pass a procedural vote in the Senate in September.Stand With Crypto, an initiative launched by Coinbase that ranks lawmakers and politicians based on their public statements and voting records related to the industry, warned after the failed CLARITY vote that candidates who failed to advance legislation could face “consequences” in the midterms. The group is attempting to mobilize crypto-minded US voters in the upcoming election, as it did in 2024 races.Magazine: France is world’s most dangerous place for Bitcoiners: 90 attacks in 7 months

A new report from Stripe-backed blockchain Tempo argues that a proposed US accounting change could remove a major barrier to corporate stablecoin adoption by allowing qualifying tokens to be classified as cash equivalents on company balance sheets.The report examines an Accounting Standards Update the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposed in August that could make stablecoins more practical for corporate treasury operations. Under current accounting practices, stablecoin holdings may not count toward a company’s reported cash reserves, affecting liquidity ratios and loan covenants even when the tokens are fully backed by dollars.The proposed change could let companies use stablecoins for payments and settlements without those accounting complications.According to Tempo, the FASB proposal would require companies to have direct redemption rights with stablecoin issuers. For example, buying USDC through an exchange would not necessarily let a company classify those tokens as cash equivalents.Tempo cites Coinbase, which classified USDC and other payment stablecoins as cash equivalents in its 2025 annual report, supported by its redemption arrangement with Circle.“Your contract with the issuer is what qualifies, and the token alone doesn’t get you there,” Tempo said.The FASB proposal remains open for public comment until Nov. 19. The board will review the feedback before finalizing the accounting changes and setting an effective date.Related: Crypto’s billions are back, but the premiums aren’tStablecoin regulation takes shape in the USThe FASB proposal follows the passage of the GENIUS Act in July 2025, which established the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States. The law is scheduled to take effect in January 2027, or 120 days after federal regulators finalize implementing rules, whichever comes first.While the GENIUS Act establishes requirements for stablecoin issuers, including reserve backing and redemption obligations, the FASB proposal addresses how companies account for stablecoins they hold.The developments come as the market for US dollar-backed stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, according to DefiLlama data. The Trump administration is also reportedly exploring ways to promote dollar-backed stablecoins overseas, potentially reinforcing the US dollar’s role as the dominant reserve currency.According to Bloomberg, the administration is weighing partnerships with private companies to develop stablecoin projects overseas, potentially involving the Treasury Department, State Department and US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Related: US Treasury proposes GENIUS Act rules targeting illicit finance

Bitcoin mining companies expanding into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing face sharply different borrowing costs as lenders scrutinize large-scale data center projects, adding to the industry’s growing financing challenges.According to the latest Miner Weekly newsletter from BlocksBridge Consulting, securing major AI customers has only been part of the challenge for miners. Companies must also raise billions of dollars to purchase computing equipment, build facilities and secure the power infrastructure needed to fulfill their contracts.“[B]ig lenders have become more selective about data center loans and decisions increasingly depend on the customer, the contract and the path to completion,” BlocksBridge said.IREN, which has expanded from Bitcoin mining into AI infrastructure, illustrates the differences in financing costs. The company secured a $3.65 billion GPU financing package in June at a blended interest rate of 6%, followed by a separate $2.4 billion financing arrangement in August at a fixed rate of 9%. The two agreements cover different projects, so they’re not directly comparable, but they show how borrowing costs can vary even within the same company.Financing arrangements can also carry costs beyond interest payments. In a separate transaction involving Cipher Digital, Google agreed to backstop $1.4 billion in lease obligations in exchange for warrants representing 5.4% of Cipher’s equity, subject to certain adjustments. Exercising those warrants could dilute existing shareholders.The financing requirements highlight a broader challenge for Bitcoin miners entering the AI market. Even companies with multibillion-dollar customer contracts may need substantial additional capital before their data centers become operational.Related: Hut 8, IREN deals lift AI-focused Bitcoin mining stocksBitcoin miners face massive AI funding gapThe differences in financing costs come as Bitcoin miners take on billions of dollars in debt to fund their AI expansion plans. At the height of the Bitcoin bull market last October, VanEck data showed that miners’ debt had surged roughly 500% from the second quarter of 2024.Ironically, capital requirements have continued to grow during the Bitcoin bear market as miners shift away from BTC mining amid deteriorating economics. A June 2026 analysis by BlocksBridge Consulting, citing VanEck data, estimated that publicly traded Bitcoin miners needed roughly $50 billion to complete their planned AI infrastructure projects, including a $21.1 billion funding gap at IREN alone.Riot Platforms and HIVE Digital also face substantial funding requirements, estimated at $7.2 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively.Related: Crypto Biz: Wealthy investors are buying crypto, but their advisers aren’t sold