Gillibrand bill targets officials’ token issuance after Trump’s $1.4B crypto income disclosure

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pushing legislation that would bar the president, vice president, members of Congress and their spouses from issuing, promoting or sponsoring digital assets while in office — a proposal that would directly target President Donald Trump’s memecoin ventures. The New York Democrat outlined the plan in a press release dated July 3, responding to Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure, which showed cryptocurrency as his largest source of personal income.

Trump’s $1.4 billion crypto income

According to AMBCrypto, Trump’s 927-page financial disclosure, filed with the Office of Government Ethics, revealed that he earned more than $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency-related activities in 2025. The largest single contributor was CIC Digital LLC, the entity that licenses the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin, which brought in $636 million.

First Lady Melania Trump, who is also reportedly under investigation, is said to have earned roughly $6 million from NFTs and other digital collectibles. The disclosures come as the TRUMP memecoin trades around $1.78, down nearly 80% over the past year, according to the report.

President Trump has defended his crypto earnings despite criticism from lawmakers and ethics watchdogs.

Gillibrand’s proposed ban

Gillibrand’s proposal would make it illegal for sitting elected officials — including the president, vice president and members of Congress — as well as their spouses, to issue, promote or sponsor digital assets while holding office. If enacted, the rule would prevent Trump from continuing to back or introduce cryptocurrencies such as his own memecoin.

“This is a commonsense requirement that should get broad bipartisan support – public officials and their spouses should not be issuing memecoins,” Gillibrand said. “We cannot let self-dealing destroy an opportunity to strengthen consumer protections, crack down on illicit finance, and expand economic opportunity for the millions of Americans our financial system has left behind.”

She added: “The time to act is now — and that must include ethics reforms that prohibit members of Congress, the president, and their spouses from cashing in on their office.”

Part of a broader ethics push

The memecoin ban is part of a wider set of ethics reforms Gillibrand has championed. She has also backed bipartisan efforts to regulate prediction markets and has long pushed to prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks.

According to AMBCrypto, the senator’s stated goal is to restore public confidence in government and stop elected officials from using their positions for personal financial gain. Whether the bill can secure the bipartisan support Gillibrand is counting on remains to be seen, given the scale of Trump’s crypto-related earnings and his administration’s broader embrace of digital assets.

Read more: Trump’s Memecoin Paid Him $636M While Investors Lost $3.8B, Report Finds