The Lowdown of the MEME Act: A New Bill Tackling Presidential Meme Coin Promotion
"Senator Chris Murphy Advocates for Prohibition of Donald Trump's Endorsement of Memecoin"
Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy brought a fresh bill to the table on Tuesday, aiming to put a stop to U.S. President Donald Trump's promotion of his very own meme coin. This legislation, known as the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, is set to span broadly over securities, digital assets, and other investment types.
The MEME Act essentially serves as a cautionary measure, ensuring that public officials, including the President, refrain from using their authority to secure financial benefits. The legislation's text clearly details that officials should not use their office to financially benefit, a guideline that, according to Murphy, applies to Trump's meme coin titled Official Trump (TRUMP).
The Solana-based token was launched days before Trump's inauguration and is currently valued at an impressive $2.1 billion, as per crypto data provider CoinGecko. The verdict? The MEME Act is gunning for initiatives that seemingly breach the very spirit it's designed to uphold - self-dealing.
"Donald Trump is essentially soliciting Venmo from any billionaire CEO or foreign oligarch, ready to cash in by secretly sending him millions," Murphy argued, emphasizing that this is the most corrupt action ever undertaken by a president. The White House, unsurprisingly, has yet to respond.
Later this month, the president is scheduled to participate in a gala dinner, limited to the top 220 TRUMP coin holders. Top 25 holders, it seems, will also enjoy a private White House tour and reception. The president's social media platform, Truth Social, has even promoted the dinner, as recently as Monday.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a powerful Democrat and notable crypto critic, has raised pay-to-play concerns and called for an investigation. The president also spoke at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia during the "Crypto & AI Innovators Dinner," an event having a hefty $1.5 million cover charge and hosted by MAGA Inc., a Super PAC closely tied to the president.
On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee was set to discuss crypto-focused matters, with a crypto market structure bill being released a day prior. Several Democrats, however, intend to boycott the meeting as a protest against Trump's crypto endeavors.
As lawmakers inch closer to shaping digital asset legislative frameworks, Trump's proximity to the crypto sector invites skepticism. Notably, the decentralized finance project World Liberty Financial, with potential ties to Trump-linked ventures, has sparked debate. The project's stablecoin, USD1, has landed a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi's MGX Group, a state-owned investment firm, for Binance crypto exchange.
Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA), who introduced the MEME Act's counterpart in the House, remarked, "This brazen corruption must end. Even more disconcerting than the kleptocratic actions of this president and his associates has been the deafening silence of the Republican majority."
Last week, a lesser-known freight logistics firm expressed interest in acquiring up to $20 million of Trump's meme coin, touting it as an effective strategy for advocating free trade between the U.S. and Mexico, a relationship thumb-twiddled by Trump's trade war.
Amanda Fischer, a policy director at the nonprofit Better Markets and former chief of staff under former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, believes that the MEME Act takes significant strides toward ensuring that public officials do not rake in crypto profits on Capitol Hill.
"We've observed that crypto is particularly prime for scams, conflicts of interest, and illicit finance. Therefore, it makes perfect sense for individuals in positions of public trust to have limitations on crypto-driven self-enrichment and the manipulation of their power and influence," Fischer commented.
- The Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy has introduced a new bill called the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, targeting President Donald Trump's promotion of his meme coin.
- The MEME Act is designed to prevent public officials, including the President, from using their authority to secure financial benefits, such as with Trump's meme coin titled Official Trump (TRUMP).
- The Solana-based token, TRUMP, was launched before Trump's inauguration and is currently valued at $2.1 billion, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.
- The MEME Act aims to address initiatives that seemingly breach its primary objective, self-dealing.
- Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns about pay-to-play and has called for an investigation into Trump's meme coin.
- Trump is scheduled to participate in a gala dinner for the top 220 TRUMP coin holders, with top 25 holders receiving a private White House tour and reception.
- The decentralized finance project World Liberty Financial, with potential ties to Trump-linked ventures, has received a $2 billion investment for its stablecoin USD1 from Abu Dhabi's MGX Group on the Binance crypto exchange.
- Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA), who introduced the MEME Act's counterpart in the House, stated that the "brazen corruption must end."
- According to Amanda Fischer, a policy director at the nonprofit Better Markets, the MEME Act makes strides toward ensuring that public officials do not profit from crypto on Capitol Hill, considering crypto's susceptibility to scams, conflicts of interest, and illicit finance.
