🟪 MEME-spirited

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There’s too little, too late, and then there’s the MEME Act.

Rep. Sam Liccardo’s new bill, the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement Act, essentially aims to prevent senior US government officials — presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress, as well as their direct family — from creating or endorsing digital assets. Per Axios, the bill also covers other types of investments, including securities, futures and the like.

The announcement reads primarily as a messaging vehicle to say that Democrats like Liccardo are firmly against the dumpster fire that is $TRUMP, which, incidentally, is trading just under $13 around 12 pm ET Friday — well off its high above $70. 

I mean, sure, that’s an easy enough stance to take. After all, Trump’s memecoin represents a colossal conflict of interest as his administration pursues a different path on crypto oversight. So far this year, the SEC, for example, has called it quits on numerous high-profile legal cases against some of the world’s biggest crypto players. Word that the SEC is in talks to potentially end its lawsuit against Tron founder Justin Sun speaks volumes about the trajectory ahead. 

Back to the MEME Act. Messaging bills, by design, are filed despite having zero chance of actually being passed and signed. Suffice to say that Trump is unlikely to sign any measure that restricts his ability to make a quick buck while in office. 

I actually think this bill is a good idea. Trump’s memecoin feeds the perception that crypto’s chief use case is to fuel online speculation — an argument that is sort of hard to argue with these days — and to line the pockets of the well-connected. As others have said, a memecoin opens a new path for those seeking political influence — why donate a limited amount of money to a campaign fund when you can just plow a few million into a token onchain? 

But I would have liked to see a measure like this sooner — especially in light of the SEC’s new stance on memecoins (tl;dr — they’re not securities). 

That’s my chief problem with the Congressional approach to crypto year after year — how perennially behind it is as technology and its place in our society evolves. Yes, there has been movement, and clearer rules around stablecoins seem like they might be around the corner.

But Congress sure seems content to let the world pass it by, crypto or otherwise — it’s little wonder that the break-things-then-maybe-fix-it approach pursued by Elon Musk and his DOGE team has its supporters.

— Michael McSweeney

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Investors, policymakers, and industry leaders — make the calls that shape the future of digital assets. 3 weeks out, the room is filling up.

• Mohamed El-Erian (Allianz) on how institutional capital is navigating uncertainty.

• Nathan McCauley (Anchorage Digital) on the state of crypto banking and custody.

• Jessica Peck (US Department of Justice) on where enforcement is headed next.

• Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) on the regulatory fights that will define the industry.

📅 March 18-20 | NYC