A group of House Democrats will introduce legislation today that would make it illegal for high-ranking government officials to create or promote crypto tokens—and would retroactively punish President Donald Trump for launching his own meme coin. The Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Act, or MEME Act, would prohibit the President, Vice President, members of Congress, senior Executive Branch officials, and their spouses and dependent children, from issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing any security, commodity, future, or digital asset.
If passed, the legislation would levy criminal and civil penalties against any person who violates these rules. It would also punish those who continue to profit from such assets, even if they were issued prior to the bill’s enactment—a direct stab at Trump and his wife, Melania, who both launched multi-billion dollar meme coins in January.
“Let’s make corruption criminal again,” Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA), who will introduce the MEME Act on the House floor later today, said in a statement shared with Decrypt. “The Trumps’ issuance of meme coins financially exploits the public for personal gain, and raises the specter of insider trading and foreign influence over the Executive Branch.”
A spokesperson for Liccardo confirmed to Decrypt that the MEME Act would also apply to government officials who promote and profit off third-party crypto tokens. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), for instance, has routinely spoken publicly about obscure meme coins he invests in, sending those assets soaring.
The bill has numerous co-sponsors in the House, all Democrats. They include Ro Khanna (D-CA), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Kevin Mullen (D-CA), Rahúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Norma Torres (D-CA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Scott Peters (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), John Garamendi (D-CA), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), Dan Goldman (D-NY), and Adam Smith (D-WA).
While the MEME Act has almost no chance of passage over the next two years, given Republican control of the House, the bill is a pointed rebuke yet of the Trump family’s self-enrichment, while in power, via crypto products. After debuting with no warning on the eve of the president’s inauguration, Trump’s token quickly ballooned to a valuation in excess of $51 billion, handing insiders massive paydays. The coin has since collapsed in value by over 80%.
The volatile and largely unregulated meme coin market came under further scrutiny earlier this month, when Argentinian president Javier Milei promoted a token, LIBRA, that soared above a $4 billion market capitalization before insiders rugged it, making away with over $100 million worth of liquidity and leaving retail holders in the lurch. Milei has since been hit with fraud charges over the affair, and has faced calls for impeachment. “It’s appalling that we have to look to Argentina’s criminal justice system as an example of how an independent prosecutor should treat a case of blatant public corruption like this,” Liccardo said.
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