California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2409 on September 27, 2026, banning state and local public officials from issuing meme coins. Newsom framed the law as a direct contrast to President Donald Trump, whose TRUMP token generated $636 million in royalties for Trump while causing nearly 1 million buyers to lose over $3 billion. The legislation also bars crypto platforms from listing new official-linked tokens for Californians starting January 1, 2027.
Provisions of Assembly Bill 2409
- ▪Beginning January 1, 2027, Assembly Bill 2409 prohibits cryptocurrency platforms from selling new meme coins offered by federal, state, or local officials to California residents, but excludes older tokens like President Donald Trump's TRUMP, allowing continued trading
- ▪California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2409 on September 27, 2026, making it illegal for state and local public officials to launch or issue meme coins
- ▪Assembly Bill 2409 authorizes the California Attorney General, district attorneys, city attorneys, and county counsel to enforce the ban on public officials issuing meme coins by filing civil actions for injunctions and disgorgement
- ▪The ban under Assembly Bill 2409 covers state and local elected or appointed officers, including legislators and advisory board members, as well as public employees with decision-making power over bids and contracts
Donald Trump's meme coin project
- ▪President Donald Trump launched the TRUMP meme coin in January 2025, three days before his second inauguration, which briefly spiked to a $14 billion market capitalization before crashing
- ▪President Donald Trump's financial disclosures revealed he earned $636 million in royalties from the TRUMP meme coin, with Trump Organization affiliates owning approximately 80% of the token supply
- ▪Nansen data indicates that 988,905 wallets that purchased President Donald Trump's meme coin lost a combined $3.81 billion as the token's value crashed
- ▪Democrats highlighted that President Donald Trump earned over $1.4 billion in crypto-related income in 2025 from his meme coin and World Liberty Financial
Other California cryptocurrency legislation
- ▪On September 27, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed 11 bills, including Senate Bill 1208, which expands California's money laundering statutes to cover digital assets until January 1, 2032, and allows law enforcement to seize cryptocurrency linked to crimes
- ▪Other bills signed by Governor Gavin Newsom alongside Assembly Bill 2409 establish rules for compensating crypto scam victims and seizing digital assets from transnational criminal networks
Debatable claims
- ▪Excluding existing tokens from California's memecoin ban is unfair
- ▪California's ban on public officials launching memecoins is a justified ethics measure
- ▪President Trump's cryptocurrency ventures create an unacceptable conflict of interest
Story comments
Loading comments…