Senator Gillibrand pushes to prohibit government officials from launching memecoins
A proposal from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand seeks to prevent the US president, congressional members, and their spouses from "issuing or sponsoring their own digital assets."
One of the key US lawmakers involved in crafting digital asset market structure legislation, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, has put forward a proposal to prevent the president and elected officials from launching or sponsoring their own cryptocurrencies, referencing the memecoins launched by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
Gillibrand announced on Friday that lawmakers should back measures preventing elected officials along with their spouses from "issuing or sponsoring their own digital assets." The senator from New York indicated that this proposed ban would apply to any sitting US president and their spouse, though she stopped short of explicitly stating whether it would extend to the vice president's office or additional family members.
This is a commonsense requirement that should get broad bipartisan support – public officials and their spouses should not be issuing memecoins. We cannot let self-dealing destroy an opportunity to strengthen consumer protections, crack down on illicit finance, and expand economic opportunity for the millions of Americans our financial system has left behind.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
As one of the key negotiators working on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in the Senate, Gillibrand has been dealing with legislation that has encountered setbacks over questions surrounding ethics, tokenization and stablecoin rewards. While she had anticipated the Senate would vote on the measure during its August state work period, she emphasized that securing votes for the bill would require addressing ethics concerns first, pointing to the risk of elected officials "[getting] rich off of these industries because of their insider status."
When the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) was under review in 2025, the senator from New York revealed that her colleagues had stripped out provisions that would have specifically targeted Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency sector, including his memecoin Official Trump (TRUMP).
At that point, she characterized the memecoin as probably "illegal based on current law," while noting that tackling the full scope of Trump's ethics issues would result in a "very long and detailed bill." The GENIUS Act received Trump's signature and became law in July 2025.
It's worth noting that Gillibrand's suggested memecoin ban did not seem to cover additional family members. Beyond his direct investments in the cryptocurrency sector, Trump has drawn scrutiny over his sons' participation in the crypto platform World Liberty Financial and their Bitcoin (BTC) mining company American Bitcoin.
Trump brushes off conflicts of interest concerns with crypto industry
Earlier this week, Trump disclosed that he made approximately $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency ventures during the same year he assumed the presidency. This substantial financial gain came at a time when he held the power to shape legislation affecting digital assets, including the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act.
In Trump's view, there was "nothing illegal" and "nothing wrong" with generating profits from his investments while serving as president, though he avoided directly addressing questions regarding potential conflicts of interest.