SKN | Digital Asset and Paul Ryan Foundation Target US State Benefits With Canton Pilot

Key Points

• Digital Asset and former US House Speaker Paul Ryan’s American Idea Foundation plan to pilot a blockchain-based system for distributing state-administered benefits across three US states using the Canton Network.
• The RISE program is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2027 and would combine multiple benefits into monthly or twice-monthly payments while applying spending rules to categories such as food, child care and cash.
• The initiative would use Canton to automate benefit adjustments as household income changes while giving participating agencies greater visibility into payments, balances, spending and compliance data.

Digital Asset, the creator of the Canton Network, and the American Idea Foundation, founded by former US House Speaker Paul Ryan, are preparing a pilot program designed to use blockchain infrastructure for distributing state-administered benefits.

The RISE program is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2027 across three US states.

The proposed system would combine multiple benefits into consolidated monthly or twice-monthly payments. Spending restrictions could then be applied to different categories, including food, child care and cash.

The participating states and specific benefit programs have not yet been identified.

The pilots also remain subject to federal approval.

Canton Would Coordinate Benefit Distribution

Under the proposed system, the Canton Network would coordinate the rules, permissions and transactions associated with benefit distribution.

The system would also automatically adjust benefit levels as household income changes.

Participating agencies would be able to track payments, balances, spending and compliance information through the network, while Digital Asset said access to sensitive information would remain limited.

The design is intended to bring multiple benefit programs into a more coordinated system rather than requiring recipients to navigate fragmented programs independently.

Focus on Reducing Benefit Penalties

Paul Ryan said the RISE pilot is intended to address situations in which families can face reductions in benefits as their incomes increase.

By combining fragmented benefits and adjusting support as household income changes, the program aims to reduce what Ryan described as penalties that can occur when recipients earn more.

The initiative will also measure the results of the pilots to evaluate whether the model could provide a framework for a modernized safety net.

The eventual impact will depend on the states selected, the programs included and the outcome of the federal approval process.

Canton Expands Beyond Institutional Finance

The RISE initiative would represent a new government-linked application for Canton, whose recent use cases have largely focused on institutional financial infrastructure.

The network has been involved in projects involving government securities, tokenized assets and real-time settlement.

In April, Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, Mizuho, Nomura and Digital Asset launched a proof of concept using Canton to test Japanese government bonds as digital collateral, including applications involving real-time and cross-border transactions.

The project received support through Japan’s Financial Services Agency Payment Innovation Project.

Canton Used for Tokenized Treasury Settlement

Canton was also used in July for a tokenized US Treasury transaction involving Franklin Templeton and Virtu Financial.

Tradeweb handled execution and price discovery, while the Treasury changed hands against USDCx in real time.

Tradeweb described the transaction as an industry first.

These institutional applications demonstrate how Canton is being positioned as infrastructure for coordinating financial assets and transactions across controlled participants.

The RISE program would extend that model into public-benefit administration if the pilot proceeds as planned.

Canton Coin Remains a Major Network Asset

Canton’s native Canton Coin is used to pay transaction fees through the network’s Global Synchronizer.

According to the source material, Canton Coin had a market capitalization of approximately $4.1 billion, ranking 23rd among cryptocurrencies, and had gained around 10% over the preceding week.

Its role within the Canton ecosystem provides an economic component to the network as applications expand across institutional finance and potentially government services.

Closing Insights

The RISE program represents an effort to apply blockchain infrastructure to the administration of public benefits rather than simply to financial-market transactions. By combining benefits, automating adjustments as household income changes and providing participating agencies with coordinated payment and compliance information, the Canton-based pilot aims to address some of the complexity associated with fragmented benefit systems. The initiative remains at the pilot stage, with participating states and programs yet to be disclosed and federal approval still required. If launched in 2027, its results could provide an important test of whether permissioned blockchain infrastructure can improve the administration of government-linked benefits at scale.