Democratic Senators propose ban on crypto promotion by Trump, senior government officials amid stablecoin bill spat

A group of 20 Democratic Senators have unveiled new legislation that seeks to prohibit senior government officials from issuing or endorsing cryptocurrencies, as key Democratic officials raise concerns about President Trump's business dealings in the crypto sector. 

The so-called "End Crypto Corruption Act of 2025" would prohibit the President, Vice President, members of Congress, individuals appointed to Senate-confirmed positions, and certain other special government employees in the Executive Office, plus their spouses and dependent children, from issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing any cryptocurrencies or other digital assets. 

One such special government employee: Elon Musk, alongside other members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team. Musk recently clarified that the department has no plans to use the memecoin of the same name in its official capacity. 

Normal sale transactions would be permitted in the current form of the bill, which imposes fines and possible jail times on offenders. The bill covers government employees and their families during their term and for one year after, and was introduced on May 7. 

The bill, the Senate counterpart of similar House legislation introduced earlier this year, is the latest response to the escalating political negotiations over the Senate's stablecoin bill. A number of Senate Democrats voted against the legislation in its current form, accusing Republicans of not compromising on key issues like anti-money laundering legislation and foreign issuer oversight. 

The bill seeks to prevent President Trump and his wife Melania from profiting from their memecoins, which were issued shortly before the inauguration. $TRUMP has recently traded higher after Trump announced its top holders would be personally invited to a White House dinner, raising conflict of interest concerns from some Democrats. 

However, it's unclear whether Trump's position as "chief crypto advocate" at the World Liberty Financial firm more closely associated with his sons and other senior members of the administration would be prohibited under the bill in its current form. Senate Democrats have recently raised concerns about a planned $2 billion deal between an Abu Dhabi investment firm and Binance with the firm's WLD1 stablecoins. 

"Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies," several Democratic senators wrote last week. 

Senator Elissa Slotkin (MI), a co-sponsor of the bill, told Michigan Advance that preventing Trump from profiting from his memecoin is more pressing than more general crypto regulation. 

"We’ve got a more immediate crocodile closer to the boat, and that’s the president of the United States, selling his own currency and marketing his own currency and using it as a form of payment to line his pockets,” Slotkin said.