U.S. Senator Introduces “MEME Act” to Prohibit Officials from Issuing and Promoting Meme Coins

On Tuesday, U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy Introduced a Bill Prohibiting Meme Coins Issued by Federal Officials

U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy introduced a bill on Tuesday that would prohibit the President, Vice President, members of Congress, and other federal officials from issuing meme coins, as well as from promoting or profiting from meme coins.

This bill, named the “Modern Compensation and Misconduct Enforcement Act” (the “MEME Act”), would broadly apply to securities, futures, commodities, or digital assets. According to the text of the bill, it requires officials to “not attempt to use their public office to gain financial benefits.”

In a statement, Murphy pointed out that the meme coin TRUMP, issued by former President Donald Trump, is a typical example of the self-serving behavior that the MEME Act aims to prohibit. According to data from CoinGecko, the TRUMP token was launched just days before Trump’s inauguration, built on the Solana blockchain, and currently has a market capitalization of approximately $2.1 billion.

Trump is expected to attend a dinner later this month for the top 220 holders of the TRUMP token. When this news was disclosed by his behind-the-scenes team, the TRUMP token surged by as much as 73%. This has raised questions about whether Trump is profiting from it, leading Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren to call for an investigation. Last weekend, Trump reiterated his support for cryptocurrency in an interview and denied profiting from it.

Impact on the Progress of U.S. Cryptocurrency Legislation

Murphy’s criticisms coincide with a hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, aimed at discussing cryptocurrency legislation, where several Democratic members expressed their opposition to Trump’s related cryptocurrency actions by collectively walking out.

The Trump family’s active engagement in the cryptocurrency market may pose significant obstacles to the passage of relevant legislation. Republican House Financial Services Committee member French Hill previously acknowledged in an interview that the cryptocurrencies launched by the Trump family, including the developing DeFi protocols, issued meme coins and NFTs, as well as the stablecoin USD1 launched by the Trump-family-supported crypto project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), have indeed complicated legislative efforts.

Source: Related Reports: “The Controversy Surrounding Trump as the ‘Crypto King’ Escalates! Democrats Threaten to Withdraw from the Cryptocurrency Bill Hearing ‘FIT21′”