Sponsors (22)
The bill strengthens transparency and blocks avenues for public‑official abuse, insider trading, and illicit finance in digital assets, but does so at the cost of increased compliance burdens, legal uncertainty, privacy intrusions, and potential restraints on lawful economic and political activity.
Federal officials, covered employees, and their immediate networks will face tighter limits on trading, promoting, or controlling digital assets while in office, reducing conflicts of interest and the risk that public office is used for private crypto gain.
Retail investors and the broader market benefit because the bill bans in‑office trading for covered individuals and extends prohibitions and reporting to beneficial owners and intermediaries, reducing insider trading, covert influence, and opportunities for illicit finance.
The bill closes common circumvention routes (trusts, wallets, protocols, nominee arrangements) and applies rules to political committees and nonprofits acting as intermediaries, making enforcement more effective and limiting covert political influence and regulatory/tax avoidance.
Financial firms, broker‑dealers, service providers, and businesses will face increased compliance, reporting, and due‑diligence costs to screen, refuse, or look through digital‑asset transactions for covered individuals and beneficial owners.
The bill's references to criminal statutes and broad definitions raise the risk of criminal exposure or enforcement against covered individuals for ambiguous conduct, increasing legal risk and potential litigation.
Covered officials and their families could lose lawful income opportunities (sponsorships, speaking fees, board roles) and face restrictions on private investments, which may deter some qualified candidates from public service.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Bars the President, Vice President, Members of Congress and close family from owning, directing, promoting, or trading digital assets and creates anti‑evasion look‑through rules with criminal penalties.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Maxine Waters · Last progress May 21, 2025
Prohibits the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and certain close family members from owning, controlling, promoting, receiving compensation from, or trading in digital assets. It bars covered officials from serving as officers or owners of digital asset issuers and prevents SEC‑reporting issuers from transacting in digital assets on behalf of covered officials. Creates anti‑evasion rules that look through trusts, corporations, wallets, protocols, and other entities to treat indirect holdings or control as prohibited, and makes violations subject to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 216.