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US Congressman Pushes to Stop Trump and Lawmakers from Investing in Crypto
A US lawmaker is pushing for legislation that would prohibit President Donald Trump, his family, and members of Congress from trading cryptocurrency or stocks. Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California’s 17th Congressional District and vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, raised the issue during an appearance on MSNBC, citing potential conflicts of interest linked to Trump’s son’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI).
Khanna suggested that Trump’s pardoning of Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao represented “blatant corruption.” He described CZ as a “foreign billionaire who was basically engaged in money-laundering,” adding that the Binance executive allegedly petitioned Trump for a pardon after funneling money to terrorists.
Binance Co-Founder Fires Back
CZ has publicly dismissed similar criticisms from Senator Elizabeth Warren, claiming she “can’t get her facts right.” The Binance co-founder pleaded guilty to a single felony violation of the US Bank Secrecy Act for failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program at Binance.
Khanna alleged that the pardon was influenced by Binance’s financial support of WLFI, echoing earlier concerns from US Representative Maxine Waters. According to Khanna:
“And what he does is he says ‘I’m going to support World Liberty,’ which is the president’s son’s cryptocurrency firm, which they’re making millions of dollars on while Donald Trump is president. And Donald Trump gives him a pardon while he is basically financing Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency stablecoin.”
Trump has faced scrutiny over his ties to WLFI multiple times. However, his son Eric Trump has consistently denied any involvement of his father in the project. In September, Eric emphasized that Trump “is running a nation. He’s not involved in our businesses in any way, shape or form.”
Khanna Pushes for Broader Ban
While Khanna did not outline specific legislative details, he concluded by calling for a ban on “any elected official from having cryptocurrency and accepting foreign money.” Government records indicate that his proposal has not yet been officially introduced.
The debate over whether government officials should invest in stocks or crypto has been ongoing, particularly with the bipartisan congressional stock trading bill awaiting a vote.
Potential Hypocrisy in the Debate
Some observers note a potential contradiction: Khanna himself has significant stock market activity, with $80.3 million in trades in 2025 alone. Since taking office in 2017, he has executed over 35,000 trades totaling more than $580 million, focusing primarily on financials, information technology, and healthcare sectors.
The clash over WLFI, crypto, and congressional trading highlights the growing tension between crypto innovation and government oversight, setting the stage for a heated debate on transparency and ethics in Washington.
