H.R. 3573: Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs in Crypto Act of 2025

This bill, titled the "Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs in Crypto Act of 2025," aims to introduce specific restrictions on the involvement of certain government officials in digital assets, which include cryptocurrencies and related financial instruments.

Key Provisions

• Prohibitions for Covered Individuals: Individuals categorized as "covered individuals," which include the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and their immediate family members, are prohibited from:
  • Owning a portion of a digital asset that allows them to make unilateral changes to it.
  • Serving as an officer, director, or owner of a digital asset issuer.
  • Issuing, sponsoring, promoting, or receiving any compensation for the sale, marketing, or mining of digital assets.
  • Trading digital assets while in office if they possess material non-public information about those assets.
• Restrictions on Companies: Companies required to file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are prohibited from engaging in transactions involving digital assets on behalf of covered individuals.
• Anti-Evasion Rules: Covered individuals are not allowed to circumvent these prohibitions by using trusts, corporations, partnerships, or other entities to participate indirectly in digital asset transactions, especially if they have control or a beneficial ownership interest in those entities.
• Definition of Beneficial Ownership: The bill defines "beneficial ownership" to include individuals who have a financial interest in a digital asset issuer, can influence decisions related to it, or have an ownership interest in such entities of 5% or more. This aims to prevent covered individuals from hiding their interests in digital assets through intermediaries.

Penalties

If covered individuals violate the prohibitions established in this bill, they would face penalties applicable under existing laws related to similar violations.

Definitions

• Covered Individual: This term includes the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and their family members.
• Digital Asset: This includes various forms of digital representations of value recorded on a distributed ledger, such as cryptocurrencies, financial contracts, and certain tokenized products.
• Distributed Ledger: A technology for maintaining a decentralized digital ledger of transactions, using cryptographic methods to ensure data integrity and execution of functions.

Objectives of the Bill

The bill seeks to prevent conflicts of interest and maintain the integrity of public office by ensuring that those in positions of power do not exploit insider knowledge or their influence in relation to digital assets.

Relevant Companies

None found