SEUNG MIN KIM, AP ; Trump agreed to new ethics rules to get a crypto bill across the line. But that might not be enough
"President Donald Trump had been hearing the message loud and clear for weeks about the sweeping cryptocurrency bill being written in the Senate: to get it across the line, he would have to agree to ethics provisions that apply to him, too.
First, Trump agreed to a measure that would bar him and his wife from issuing the types of meme coins that they swiftly launched as he prepared to return to the White House for a second time. And then another concession came late Sunday, when Republicans said Trump consented to a tougher ethics proposal that several key senators had demanded.
Now, a pivotal Senate vote on the cryptocurrency bill on Tuesday could mark a watershed moment for the $2.3 trillion market — but it hinges mainly on whether those sign-offs from Trump go far enough. That vote could determine whether Washington cements crypto legitimacy into law or whether a frustrated, deep-pocketed industry could unleash even more campaign cash in the midterm elections...
Presidents aren’t always covered by federal ethics laws
Presidents have often been exempt from federal conflict-of-interest laws, though some other modern presidents voluntarily put assets in blind trusts. While Cabinet officials subject to the laws can recuse themselves or divest holdings to address specific issues under their jurisdiction, it was seen as much more difficult for presidents who oversee the entire government to do the same.
A measure enacted into law last year regulating stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency, barred members of Congress and their families from profiting off them, but it did not extend to Trump or his family."
