Congressman Torres proposes bill to ban federal officials from trading or owning crypto

Representative Ritchie Torres is reportedly preparing to introduce legislation prohibiting federal officials from owning or trading crypto while in office. 

The measure seeks to close potential conflicts of interest and expand existing financial ethics rules to include digital assets. The proposed bill would apply to a wide range of public servants, including members of Congress, senior executive branch officials, and federal regulators. 

It builds on existing laws barring insider trading and certain forms of private investment by public officials and extends similar restrictions to holdings in crypto, especially stablecoins and memecoins.

The draft text circulating online shows the bill aims to prevent federal officials from benefiting financially from digital asset markets they may influence through legislation, regulation, or enforcement. 

The measure also proposes mandatory disclosure of all digital asset holdings by covered individuals.

The title “Stop Presidential Profiteering from Digital Assets Act” suggests that the bill aims to address President Donald Trump and his family’s ventures in crypto. These initiatives include the decentralized finance protocol World Liberty Financial and its stablecoin, USD1, and the TRUMP memecoin.

Bill could have passed last year

The bill arrives amid ongoing regulatory efforts in the crypto sector and as Congress continues to debate how to classify, regulate, and oversee the industry. 

Paradigm’s vice president of regulatory affairs, Justin Slaughter, responded to news of the bill by noting that such a measure could have passed a year earlier had Congress moved forward on the “McHenry-Waters package.”

The package refers to bipartisan legislative measures introduced by former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and Ranking Member Maxine Waters. The measures focused on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial services and housing sectors.

Slaughter added:

“Good bill. We could’ve passed this Torres bill last year too, if we’d passed McHenry Waters. Would’ve been easy before the election. Let this be a reminder that failing to pass legislation doesn’t mean it becomes better with time.”

Messari co-founder Ryan Selkis also weighed in, expressing skepticism about the bill’s prospects. 

Responding to Slaughter, Selkis wrote:

“Might as well call it the ‘Screw Trump and His Kids’ act as it’s not going to happen.” 

He also criticized recent legislative efforts to regulate memecoins and stablecoins as part of broader packages. 

Slaughter acknowledged the shift in the political landscape and agreed that such a move would be “impossible now,” and will likely serve as more of a “cautionary tale.”

The draft bill does not appear in a broader regulatory package, and its introduction could be independent. 

While Torres did not officially file the legislation, public discussion of its contents has reignited concerns over policymakers’ exposure to crypto markets.

This year, Democrat lawmakers pressed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for records regarding World Liberty Financial and called the Treasury to oppose the idea of a federal strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Existing financial disclosure rules for public officials do not explicitly address blockchain-based assets’ unique characteristics or traceability, leaving a gap that the Torres bill, which prohibits profiting on crypto, seeks to address directly.

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