Trump Agrees to Crypto Ethics Rules, But Will They Be Enough?

President Donald Trump has agreed to new ethics rules for cryptocurrency legislation, but it's unclear if they're enough. The move came after weeks of pressure from senators drafting the bill, who told Trump that he would have to abide by conflict-of-interest restrictions to get key Democrats on board.

The language presented in a meeting between Trump and Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno would bar all federally elected officials and their spouses, as well as federal judges, from issuing digital assets. This means Trump would no longer be able to sponsor meme coins like the one he launched on the cusp of his second inauguration last January.

However, Senator Ruben Gallego and Senator Thom Tillis proposed an additional provision that would require the president to put his crypto holdings in a blind trust and divest when those holdings reach a certain value. Trump agreed to this proposal, as well as language allowing state attorneys general to sue a crypto exchange if they list a digital asset that would be barred in the overall bill.

While some Democrats have expressed skepticism about the new ethics rules, others see them as a crucial step towards cementing crypto legitimacy into law. The Senate vote on the cryptocurrency bill is set for Tuesday and could determine whether Washington regulates the $2.3 trillion market or leaves it to the industry to self-regulate.