Key Takeaways
- The proposed legislation would prohibit sitting presidents, cabinet members, and their immediate families from issuing or endorsing any form of crypto
- Schiff cited Trump’s activities as the catalyst for the bill, saying they raise serious questions about ethics and abuse of public office
Senator Adam Schiff introduced new legislation Monday aimed at preventing U.S. presidents and other top federal officials from leveraging their positions for personal gain through digital asset ventures. The bill, dubbed the Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act, is co-sponsored by nine Democratic senators and directly targets the growing concerns around political entanglement with the crypto industry.
The proposed legislation would prohibit sitting presidents, cabinet members, and their immediate families from issuing or endorsing any form of crypto— including stablecoins, NFTs, and memecoins — during their time in office. It also imposes a blackout period beginning 180 days before assuming office and extending for two years after leaving government service.
The bill arrives amid renewed scrutiny of former President Donald Trump’s involvement in the crypto sector. Trump reportedly generated over $57 million in 2024 from his connections to World Liberty Financial (WLF), a platform tied to his family that launched a stablecoin known as USD1 earlier this year. According to industry trackers, USD1 has reached a market cap of approximately $2.2 billion, with tokens distributed through promotional airdrops.
Schiff cited Trump’s activities as the catalyst for the bill, saying they raise serious questions about ethics and abuse of public office. “This is about protecting the public interest and maintaining trust in government, especially when emerging financial technologies open the door to new conflicts of interest,” Schiff said in a statement.
In the House of Representatives, California congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced the Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs, or TRUMP, in Crypto Act aimed ‘at blocking Trump’s memecoin and stopping his crypto corruption’. Ironically, it happened the same day Trump held a dinner to reward the top holders of his memecoin.
Earlier in May, Representative Ritchie Torres presented the “Stop Presidential Profiteering from Digital Assets Act”, aimed at prohibiting federal officials from owning or trading crypto while in office.
