TL;DR
- The MEME Act is a law that seeks to prohibit public officials and their families from issuing or endorsing cryptocurrencies, including memecoins.
- Tokens associated with Donald and Melania Trump have lost much of their value, affecting thousands of investors.
- Regulators and lawmakers continue to debate who should oversee memecoins and their impact on financial markets.
Democratic Congressman Sam Liccardo introduced a bill to prohibit public officials from issuing, endorsing, or benefiting from cryptocurrencies, including so-called memecoins. The initiative, known as the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement Act (MEME Act), aims to prevent political figures from leveraging their influence for personal profit in the digital asset market.
The law targets the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior executive branch officials, as well as their spouses and dependent children. If passed, these individuals would be barred from participating in the creation or promotion of tokens, including those marketed as speculative assets without clear intrinsic value.
Liccardo argues that such cryptocurrencies can create conflicts of interest and facilitate the economic exploitation of citizens. In the specific case of tokens linked to Donald and Melania Trump, he believes that the lack of regulation in this area has allowed them to profit from their political positions.
Memecoins associated with the former president have suffered sharp declines since their launch in January. The $TRUMP token, introduced days before his inauguration, lost more than 80% of its value, while $MELANIA dropped over 90%. This volatility impacted thousands of investors who had bet on these assets expecting quick profits.
What Penalties Would the Act Consider?
The proposal also includes civil and criminal penalties for those who violate the restrictions, including the inability to profit from assets issued before the law’s approval. Liccardo maintains that this measure is necessary to prevent officials from turning their influence into a means of personal enrichment.
The MEME Act is not the only recent initiative related to memecoin regulation. Senator Cortez Masto introduced an amendment to prohibit public officials from issuing or promoting cryptocurrencies in which the Chinese Communist Party has a stake. These initiatives reflect a growing interest in establishing rules that limit the use of digital assets by political figures and government officials.
Meanwhile, regulators continue to debate the legal framework that should apply to memecoins. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that most of these assets fall outside its jurisdiction, leaving the discussion open on which agency should oversee them
