Trump Relents on Ethics Rules as Crypto Bill Heads to Crucial Senate Vote
US President Donald Trump has agreed to new ethics rules in order to pass a sweeping cryptocurrency bill in the Senate. The bill aims to bring the $2.3 trillion market into mainstream legitimacy.
The legislation requires federally elected officials and their spouses, as well as federal judges, to refrain from issuing digital assets. This means Trump will no longer be able to sponsor meme coins like the one he launched on the cusp of his second inauguration in January last year.
However, a tougher ethics proposal presented by senators Ruben Gallego and Thom Tillis would require the president to put his crypto holdings in a blind trust and divest when those holdings reach a certain value. This provision could force Trump to divest from ventures such as World Liberty Financial, which generated over $500 million in revenue last year.
Trump's agreement to the new ethics rules comes after weeks of negotiations with senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno, who met with him at the White House in mid-July. The Senate vote on the cryptocurrency bill is set for Tuesday, and its outcome will determine whether Washington cements crypto legitimacy into law or unleashes more campaign cash from the industry.