Schiff introduces the COIN Act to bar the president from crypto

U.S. Senator for California Adam Schiff introduced a bill on Monday titled the Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act. The legislation would bar the president, vice president, and their immediate family members from engaging in crypto-related business ventures while holding office. 

The bill comes amid rising concern over the intertwining of politics and digital assets, particularly in the case of President Donald Trump’s recent involvement in crypto. The COIN Act proposes a strict ban on issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing any form of cryptocurrency, including meme coins, NFTs, and stablecoins.

Schiff introduces the COIN Act

Donald Trump and other senior administration officials have made a fortune off of crypto schemes.

Today, I'm introducing the COIN Act to put a stop to this corruption in plain sight. pic.twitter.com/8wieNSCPgC

— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) June 23, 2025

The new legislation mandates that officials disclose any sale of digital assets worth over $1,000. According to the bill, violators, including a sitting president, would face a civil penalty equal to the amount of profit made and up to five years in prison.

Schiff also linked the proposal to Trump’s crypto dealings, saying they have raised significant ethical, legal, and constitutional concerns over his use of the office of presidency to enrich himself and his family. Trump and his family have doubled down on their footprint in the crypto space, as his administration has pushed to create a more favorable regulatory environment for the industry, including through legislation.

“That’s why I am introducing legislation to prevent the financial exploitation of any digital assets by public officials, including the president and the First family. We need far greater scrutiny of the president’s financial dealings, and to stop him and any other politician from profiting off of such schemes.”

–Adam Schiff, U.S. Senator for California.

The senator’s proposal also raised eyebrows since he just voted last week in favor of the GENIUS Act, a bill establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the U.S. Schiff acknowledged in a video posted Monday that Trump’s stablecoin venture was a central piece of the graft going on in the White House.

The legislation restricts members of Congress and some executive officials from issuing stablecoins but exempts the president and vice president. Democrats had initially threatened to walk away from the bill at the Republicans’ refusal to include language addressing presidential crypto conflicts in the GENIUS Act.

Due to pressure to push the legislation through, the U.S. officials finally relented. Schiff, along with 17 other Democrats, voted in favor of the bill, and it passed on June 19.

According to the proposal, nine Senate Democrats joined Schiff in co-sponsoring the COIN Act. Seven of them also voted in favor of the stablecoin legislation.

Democrats propose other legislation targeting Trump’s crypto ventures

Democrats have also proposed other legislation targeting Trump’s crypto ventures, including the MEME Act, introduced by Sam Liccardo in the House and Senator Chris Murphy. Representative Maxine Waters also introduced the Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act, though none of the legislations are expected to pass in a Republican-controlled Congress.

Last year, Trump and his sons launched a crypto project, World Liberty Financial, which has since released a stablecoin. According to a recent financial disclosure, the President has garnered around $58 million from the venture. That total is expected to climb further in 2025 with an anticipated $390 million token sale and gains from his memecoin launched in January.

Trump launched his memecoin (TRUMP) shortly after his inauguration and held a dinner with the top investors last month. His wife, Melania Trump, also launched her memecoin (MELANIA) days after Trump launched his token.

The President’s involvement in Bitcoin mining, tokenized assets, and digital ETFs raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest. In May, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal also opened an investigation into Trump’s crypto businesses.

Blumenthal revealed that the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations would be opening a preliminary inquiry into the launch of the President’s cryptocurrency, along with DeFi platform WLFI and other digital asset interests.

Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, has raised $2.5 billion to create a Bitcoin reserve and has advanced towards launching several crypto-related financial assets. The SEC approved the filing on June 13, which covers 85 million shares, including 29 million linked to convertible notes.

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