US Congressman proposes MEME Act that would ban officials from profiting off memecoins
US Democratic congressman Sam Liccardo, introduced a law on Feb. 27, to prevent government officials or their families from making money from cryptocurrencies. This includes memecoins.
The proposed legislation, known as the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, has gained support from multiple Democratic colleagues and is designed to “make corruption criminal again.”
If passed, the bill would prohibit elected officials like the president, vice president, members of Congress, and senior executive officials — along with their spouses and dependent children—from issuing, promoting, or financially benefiting from securities, commodities, or cryptocurrencies, including memecoins.
He also sees the bill as an extension of the Emoluments clause, which prohibits officials from accepting gifts or other benefits from foreign entities. He argued that profits from political influence on the financial markets should also be limited.
It would also penalize those who violated the law and force them to forfeit illicit gains they made prior to its enactment.
Why MEME Act
Liccardo stated that he had introduced the MEME Act in response to the controversial launch TRUMP, an memecoin associated with President Donald Trump.
According to him
“The tokens raised a lot concerns among folks about conflict of interest, about exploiting public office for personal gains.”
The token, which debuted in January 2025, experienced extreme price volatility — soaring to a $13 billion valuation before plummeting by over 82% from its peak. A similar coin linked to First Lady Melania Donald also dropped 93% within a few weeks.
Liccardo said that Trump and a few select insiders were the only ones to benefit from these coins. This left hundreds of thousands retail investors with a loss.
He said:
“800,000 people bought this memecoin of Trump’s. What’s this? Almost everyone of those 800,000 people lost a lot of money.”
Liccardo described the situation as corruption while emphasizing the need for legislative action to protect investors from similar schemes in the future.
In light of this, the MEME Act has been designed to eliminate financial conflict of interest amongst public officials through strict penalties and prohibitions.
MEME Act has significant legislative hurdles despite its bold stance.
In the current political climate, it is unlikely that the bill will pass. Republicans control Congress. Even Liccardo reportedly admits that the proposal serves as a symbolic measure for now — a foundation for future action if Democrats regain power.
