Waters bill targets 'crypto corruption' hours before Trump's memecoin gala

Hours ahead of President Donald Trump's ritzy gala to host the top holders of his memecoin, lead Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters introduced a new bill to address concerns about the president's involvement in digital assets, calling for an end to "crypto corruption." 

Waters, along with 14 other Democratic co-sponsors, introduced the "Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs in Crypto Act of 2025," on Thursday afternoon. The bill aims to ban the president, vice president, lawmakers, and immediate family members from "owning a proportion of a digital asset that would allow them to unilaterally make changes to the digital asset," among other requirements.

“Trump’s crypto con is not just a scam to target investors," Waters said in a statement. "It’s also a dangerous backdoor for selling influence over American policies to the highest foreign bidder. For all we know, Russia, China, or even North Korea could be buying Trump’s crypto to secure favors from the White House."

Trump's crypto ties have bubbled to the surface in Washington amid concerns about the president's involvement in the digital asset industry. Trump's family has been involved in crypto in a few ways, with Trump and his wife, Melania, launching their own memecoins days ahead of his inauguration and the launch of Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, which recently launched its own stablecoin.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are working to draft bills to regulate the industry, with one specifically focused on stablecoins and the other taking a whole-of-market approach. 

Buckle up 

The gala on Thursday night will be at Trump's private golf club outside of Washington for the top holders of the memecoin $TRUMP. Holders were encouraged to "hold as much $TRUMP as you can," for a certain period of time. The price for going is between $55,000 and $37.7 million, according to NBC News. 

Though many of the attendees are anonymous, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has said he would be going to the gala, in a post on X.

"Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation from @GetTrumpMemes to attend President Trump’s Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!" Sun posted.

Waters' bill also looks to prevent officials from owning, issuing, promoting, or receiving compensation for selling digital assets or trading those assets while in office, while holding onto material non-public information. 

Reps. Nydia Velázquez, Brad Sherman, Ritchie Torres, Al Green, Stephen Lynch, and Rashida Tlaib, among others, supported the bill on Thursday. 

“President Trump’s second presidency has brought corruption in this country to new heights," said Rep. Gree, "Nothing illustrates this more than President Trump’s meme coin. This bill is absolutely vital to ensure that future public servants and their families do not repeat President Trump’s ignominious example."