Digital Asset and Paul Ryan Foundation Launch Canton Network Pilot for US State Benefits

Blockchain for Public Welfare Administration

Digital Asset, creator of the Canton Network, and the American Idea Foundation founded by former House Speaker Paul Ryan have announced a partnership to pilot a blockchain-based system for distributing state-administered benefits. The RISE program represents a significant application of distributed ledger technology to public welfare administration in the United States. Scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2027, the pilot will operate across three participating US states, pending federal approval. The specific states and benefit programs involved have not yet been disclosed.

How Canton Will Modernize Benefit Distribution

The RISE program will consolidate multiple state benefit programs into unified monthly or twice-monthly payments processed through the Canton Network. The system enforces spending rules for distinct benefit categories including food assistance, child care support, and cash transfers. The platform features automated real-time adjustment of benefit levels as household income changes, directly addressing a longstanding structural problem in welfare administration.

Currently, benefit recipients often face substantial penalties when they increase their earnings, creating perverse incentives against employment. By automating benefit recalculations, the Canton-based system eliminates these penalties and encourages work. Participating state agencies gain comprehensive oversight through Canton’s interface, enabling them to monitor payments, account balances, spending patterns, and regulatory compliance. Digital Asset designed the system so that Canton orchestrates the rules, permissions, and transactions governing benefit distribution while maintaining strict data access controls to protect sensitive personal information.

Canton Network’s Expanding Role in Public and Private Sectors

The RISE program demonstrates Canton’s evolution beyond institutional finance, where it has primarily operated. In April, a consortium including Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, Mizuho, and Nomura partnered with Digital Asset to test Japanese government bonds as digital collateral on Canton—a project selected for support under Japan’s Financial Services Agency Payment Innovation Project. The arrangement enabled real-time, cross-border transactions involving the digital assets. Subsequently, in July, Canton facilitated settlement of a tokenized US Treasury trade between Franklin Templeton and Virtu Financial, with Tradeweb providing execution and price discovery services in what was characterized as an industry first.

Canton Coin (CC), the network’s native fee token, maintains a market capitalization of approximately $4.1 billion and ranks 23rd among all cryptocurrencies by market value. The token has gained roughly 10% in value over the past week, reflecting growing confidence in Canton’s expanding utility across diverse applications. The shift toward public goods use cases underscores how blockchain infrastructure can address real-world inefficiencies in government services.

Source: Digital Asset, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.