US Senator Seeks Memecoin Ban for Trump and Elected Officials After $636 Million Disclosure
A renewed ethics fight over President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency earnings has sharpened as U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand pushes to ban elected officials from profiting from digital assets they create or promote while in office.
Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) renewed her push on July 3, 2026, to prohibit elected officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets. The renewed effort followed new reporting on President Trump’s financial disclosures, which listed $636 million from a memecoin as his largest source of income in 2025.
Gillibrand’s proposal would apply to the president, members of Congress, and their spouses, making it illegal for them to issue or sponsor digital assets, including memecoins. The disclosures also reported that First Lady Melania Trump issued her own memecoin and separately earned $6 million from non-fungible tokens and other digital collectibles. Gillibrand argued that ethics standards should accompany any broader cryptocurrency legislation, stating: “This is a commonsense requirement that should get broad bipartisan support – public officials and their spouses should not be issuing memecoins.”
Gillibrand’s latest proposal follows more than a year of efforts to add ethics restrictions to federal cryptocurrency legislation. In May 2025, she co-sponsored the End Crypto Corruption Act, which sought to prohibit the president, members of Congress, and their families from issuing or endorsing digital assets, including memecoins and stablecoins. During Senate consideration of the GENIUS Act in 2025, Gillibrand pushed to retain provisions addressing Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures, but those were removed after some senators argued that detailing all conflicts would make the legislation overly lengthy. Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025.
Gillibrand reiterated her position at the Consensus Miami conference in May 2026, telling industry participants that the proposed CLARITY Act would not pass without ethics provisions covering the president’s personal crypto activities. The memecoin ban proposal has not been enacted, leaving its future in Congress’s hands. Gillibrand said lawmakers should move quickly, emphasizing: “The time to act is now — and that must include ethics reforms that prohibit members of Congress, the president, and their spouses from cashing in on their office.” Whether these ethics restrictions become part of future cryptocurrency legislation remains uncertain, with Congressional action needed to determine if federal officials are ultimately barred from issuing or sponsoring digital assets while serving.