Gillibrand calls for ban on meme coins issued by elected officials
In brief
- Trump earned $1.2 billion from crypto ventures, including $635 million from a Solana-based meme coin
- Gillibrand introduced legislation banning digital asset issuance by elected officials and their spouses
- Proposal extends Gillibrand's ethics agenda targeting congressional stock trading and prediction market wagers
The earnings disclosure
President Trump earned more than $1.2 billion from crypto endeavors in the past year. Both Trump and First Lady Melania Trump benefitted from meme coins during this period. The scale of these earnings has intensified scrutiny over self-dealing by public officials in the crypto space.
Gillibrand framed the issue in straightforward terms. "This is a commonsense requirement that should get broad bipartisan support—public officials and their spouses should not be issuing meme coins," she said in a statement.
Broader ethics push
The meme coin ban fits into a larger legislative agenda. Gillibrand, who is among the most pro-crypto Democratic senators, has consistently pushed guardrails around official conduct. Earlier this year, she led a bipartisan effort to keep members of Congress from placing wagers on prediction markets. She also has been vocal about the banning of stock trading for public officials while they are in office.
The senator has signaled that ethics provisions are non-negotiable in broader crypto legislation. In May, Gillibrand said that the bill would not pass without an ethics provision that extended to the actions of President Trump, referring to the Clarity Act market structure bill.
Clarity Act outlook
The path forward remains uncertain. When the bill advanced through a key Senate vote, an agreement regarding ethical guardrails for public officials had not yet been completed. Galaxy researchers estimated odds of the Clarity Act passing this year at around 50-50, citing lack of time rather than content issues.
Gillibrand's push reflects a tension in the current crypto legislative environment: how to craft rules that protect consumers without creating loopholes for those in power. The meme coin ban represents one answer to that question.
