According to reports, a Pennsylvania Democratic lawmaker on Aug. 20 filed a bill that would tighten rules around elected officials and cryptocurrency. Rep. Ben Waxman of District 182 introduced House Bill 1812 with eight Democratic co-sponsors.
Officials who already hold crypto would have to divest within 90 days of the law taking effect. Penalties include fines up to $50,000 and, in serious cases, prison terms of up to five years.
The bill now sits in the Pennsylvania House and must clear committee review before a full floor vote.
Critics in Waxman’s camp argue these ventures can blur the line between public duty and private gain. Allegations have circulated that the Official Trump token and related projects cost investors large sums, and those claims have helped fuel calls for tighter rules.
Those bills would bar the president, vice president, members of Congress, and their families from issuing or promoting tokens while in office.
Reports disclose that figures like Rep. Maxine Waters have warned that tokens tied to political figures could be used by foreign actors to influence or exploit markets.
That warning has been part of the broader push to add guardrails around digital currency and public office.
Supporters of HB1812 say the measure is a straightforward ethics rule: no public servant should enrich themselves through crypto schemes while in office.
They argue the sector’s volatility and light regulation make it especially prone to abuse.
Opponents are likely to call the bill overly broad or say it could chill private investment by public servants, though formal Republican responses to the bill were not detailed in the initial filing.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
