Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act of 2025

Bill Number

H.R. 3573

Origin Chamber

House

Congress

119th Congress, Session 1

Policy Area

Finance and Financial Sector

Status

Introduced

Latest Action

2025-05-21: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Last Updated

2026-05-26T19:36:11Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose

The legislation aims to prevent conflicts of interest and insider trading by prohibiting elected U.S. government officials and their immediate family members from engaging in certain activities related to digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies. It seeks to ensure that public servants do not personally profit from or influence the digital asset market while in office.

Key Provisions

• Prohibitions for Covered Individuals (Section 2):
• Covered individuals cannot own a significant share of a digital asset that allows them to make unilateral changes to it (e.g., altering its code or rules).
• They cannot serve as officers, directors, or owners of companies issuing digital assets.
• They cannot issue, sponsor, promote, or receive any payment (direct or indirect, including fees) for selling, marketing, or mining digital assets in the U.S. or to U.S. persons.
• They cannot trade digital assets while in office if they possess material non-public information (information not available to the general public that could affect asset prices).
• Publicly traded companies required to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cannot issue, sell, or transact digital assets on behalf of covered individuals.
• Violations are penalized under existing federal conflict-of-interest laws (18 U.S.C. § 216), which can include fines or imprisonment, similar to penalties for other ethics breaches.

• Anti-Evasion Rules (Section 3):
• Covered individuals cannot use intermediaries (e.g., trusts, corporations, partnerships, political groups, nonprofits, or digital wallets) to conduct prohibited activities if they control the intermediary, benefit from it financially, or own at least 5% of it.
• "Beneficial owner" is defined broadly to include anyone with a financial interest, influence over decisions, significant ownership (5% or more, even through hidden arrangements), or roles in trusts holding such interests.
• Laws apply "look-through" to indirect holdings or arrangements designed to hide ownership or control.

• Definitions (Section 4):
• Covered individual: Includes the President, Vice President, Members of Congress (Senators, Representatives, Delegates, or Resident Commissioners), and their spouses, children, sons-in-law, or daughters-in-law (based on common law family relationships).
• Digital asset: A broad category covering any digital value recorded on a cryptographically secured shared network (distributed ledger), including stablecoins (pegged to stable values like the dollar), memecoins (joke-based cryptocurrencies), derivatives (e.g., futures, options, swaps based on digital assets), securities or trusts backed by digital assets, yield-generating products (e.g., staking or lending in decentralized finance), non-fungible tokens (NFTs, unique digital items like art), and tokens from decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs, community-governed entities).
• Distributed ledger: A shared digital record of transactions across a network, secured by cryptography to ensure accuracy and prevent tampering.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Introduces specific prohibitions on digital asset activities tailored to modern financial technologies, which were not explicitly covered under prior ethics laws like 18 U.S.C. §§ 203–209 (general conflict-of-interest rules for federal officials).
• Expands penalties by applying the compensation and limitation on outside activities statute (18 U.S.C. § 216) directly to these new digital asset rules, creating uniform enforcement.
• Adds an anti-evasion framework with a broad "beneficial ownership" definition and look-through requirements, strengthening enforcement against hidden involvement compared to existing disclosure rules for financial interests (e.g., under the Ethics in Government Act).

Potential Impacts

• On Government Agencies: The SEC and ethics enforcement bodies (e.g., Office of Government Ethics) may see increased oversight responsibilities, including monitoring compliance and investigating violations, potentially requiring new resources for digital asset expertise.
• On Citizens: Promotes public trust in government by reducing risks of officials using their positions for personal gain in emerging markets like crypto; however, it could indirectly affect the broader digital asset market by limiting high-profile endorsements or involvement from officials.
• On International Relations: Minimal direct impact, though it could influence U.S. credibility in global digital asset regulation by signaling strong anti-corruption standards, potentially encouraging similar rules abroad.

Main Stakeholders Affected

• Elected Officials and Families: Presidents, Vice Presidents, Members of Congress, and specified relatives face direct restrictions on personal and indirect involvement in digital assets, limiting their financial opportunities in this sector.
• Digital Asset Industry: Issuers, miners, marketers, and platforms (including DAOs and NFT creators) cannot engage with covered individuals, potentially reducing visibility or partnerships but promoting a level playing field.
• Publicly Traded Companies: SEC-reporting firms are barred from transacting digital assets for covered individuals, affecting their compliance and business operations.
• General Public and Investors: U.S. persons benefit from safeguards against insider advantages but may see less official promotion of digital assets.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

• Legal: Strengthens federal ethics enforcement by adapting conflict-of-interest laws to digital assets, with broad definitions that could lead to expansive interpretations in court (e.g., what constitutes "material non-public information" or "control" over intermediaries). Penalties align with existing statutes, easing integration into the U.S. Code.
• Constitutional: May raise questions under the First Amendment regarding restrictions on promotion or speech tied to financial activities, though courts have upheld similar ethics rules as not violating free speech when aimed at preventing corruption. No direct challenges to due process or equal protection are evident.
• Political: The bill's acronym ("Stop TRUMP in Crypto") and sponsors (primarily Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee) suggest a partisan focus on curbing potential abuses in the cryptocurrency space, which could fuel debates on government overreach into personal finances or emerging technologies during an election cycle. It builds on broader efforts to regulate digital assets without altering core securities laws.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]

Cosponsors (21)

Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11], Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12], Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3], Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7], Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8], Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9], Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29], Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32], Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5], Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6], Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52], Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15], Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6], Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5], Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7], Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5], Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19], Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7], Rep. Levin, Mike [D-CA-49], Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7], Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]

Recent Actions

• 2025-05-21: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
• 2025-05-21: Introduced in House
• 2025-05-21: Introduced in House

Bill Versions

• Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs in Crypto Act of 2025 — issued 2025-05-21 — PDF (5 pages)