Following the recent declaration by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that meme coins have “no use,” and ahead of the first-ever White House crypto summit on Friday, March 7th, Public Citizen called for the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to investigate whether Donald Trump’s meme coin venture constitutes gift solicitation, which would be illegal.
“If Trump’s meme coins have ‘no use’ and are marketed as a way to simply ‘celebrate’ his leadership, then Trump requiring payment for his memes may constitute illegal solicitation of gifts,” said Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate at Public Citizen. “As the White House cozies up to the crypto industry — which spent over a hundred million dollars to influence the 2024 elections — and Trump personally profits from a crypto venture, the conflicts of interest and potentially illegal abuses of power on display should concern every American.”
Public Citizen is closely tracking the crypto industry’s election spending and influence on elected officials, including Trump.
Additional resources include:
- Our comprehensive report on unprecedented crypto spending in the 2024 election
- Our reaction to Trump’s executive order on crypto and a national asset stockpile
- Our first complaint re Trump’s meme coin venture
For additional information on Trump’s meme coin or reactions to Friday’s summit, please contact Emily Leach, eleach@citizen.org to speak with an expert.
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Newswire Editor | Radio Free (2025-03-06T18:42:52+00:00) If Meme Coins Have ‘No Use,’ Why is Trump Charging for Them?. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/03/06/if-meme-coins-have-no-use-why-is-trump-charging-for-them/
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