Democratic Senator Introduces Bill To Address Trump’s Crypto Ties

California Senator Adam Schiff and nine other Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to prevent what they called “financial exploitation of digital assets” by the US president and other public officials.

In a Monday announcement, Schiff and several Democratic senators said they had introduced the Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure, or COIN, Act, in response to US President Donald Trump’s connections to the cryptocurrency industry. The proposed legislation followed Trump’s disclosure of $57.4 million in income tied to World Liberty Financial (WLF), the crypto platform backed by members of his family.

“President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency dealings have raised significant ethical, legal and constitutional concerns over his use of the office of the presidency to enrich himself and his family,” said Schiff. “That’s why I am introducing legislation to prevent the financial exploitation of any digital assets by public officials, including the president and the First Family.”

Members of Congress have previously attempted to push through legislation barring certain elected officials, including presidents and their families, from investing in stocks and other assets while in office. However, Schiff’s proposed bill could extend a prohibition on issuing, sponsoring or endorsing cryptocurrencies, memecoins, non-fungible tokens and stablecoins “180 days prior to and 2 years after” an individual’s time in office.

Related: Texas Representative Gill under fire over late $500K Bitcoin disclosures

The text of the bill specifically targeted payment stablecoins. WFL announced its own USD1 stablecoin in March.

In May, an Abu Dhabi-based company said it intended to use the stablecoin to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance. The president’s family has also reportedly reduced its stake in WLF to 40% in June from 75% in December, with proceeds from potential sales estimated at millions of dollars.

The nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action reported in April that the president’s digital assets holdings were worth $2.9 billion, which accounted for roughly 40% of his wealth.

Anti-corruption legislation in Congress

Schiff’s proposed bill is one of the first legislative efforts in the Senate to address Trump’s ties to the crypto industry. In the House of Representatives, California congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced the Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs, or TRUMP, in Crypto Act “to block Trump’s memecoin and stop his crypto corruption” on the same day the president held a dinner to reward the top holders of his memecoin.

It’s unclear whether either bill will have enough support in either chamber to pass. Even if Schiff’s or Waters’ legislation were to pass both the House and Senate, it would likely be vetoed by Trump and require a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override it and become law. Democrats are currently in the minority in both the House and Senate.

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