The self-proclaimed crypto president, is facing a tricky question, should he prevent U.S. Congress members from trading cryptocurrencies, just like he supports banning them from trading stocks? Our answer is yes, but what experts say?
Congressmen decide
The idea of banning Congress from trading stocks has been around for a while, even president Joe Biden has been vocal about this, arguing that lawmakers shouldn’t profit from markets they can influence.
And guess what? About 75% of Americans agree with him. But crypto is a whole different ball game, it’s decentralized, global, and notoriously volatile.
Trump’s crypto passion
Right now, Trump is the loudest voice for Bitcoin in Washington, as he’s been pushing policies like stopping government bitcoin sales and appointing crypto-friendly experts to key regulatory positions.
This has made him quite popular among blockchain fans, but it also raises eyebrows about his own investments, also, his personal holdings and connections in the crypto world could complicate things when it comes to setting ethical standards.
Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer, has expressed concerns that Trump’s financial interests might control or influence his decisions on crypto regulation.
“The conflicts have substantially increased alongside the expansion of his business empire.”
Interestingly, he didn’t mention any similar worries before about insider trading rumors involving Nancy Pelosi.
The game is rigged?
The idea of banning Congress from trading anything isn’t new. The ETHICS Act was introduced years ago to stop lawmakers and their families from profiting off markets they influence, and as of now, Congress members can still trade stocks freely, even with growing public demand for change.
The ETHICS Act could potentially extend to cryptocurrencies, but it’s still just a proposal, not law yet. And even if it passes, enforcing it would be another uphill battle.
Crypto moves at lightning speed, much faster than Washington can keep up, and unlike stocks, it’s not tied to a central exchange, so banning it could lead to chaos.
But allowing Congress members to trade maybe could be even messier.
