California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning state public officials from issuing memecoins, cryptocurrencies based on famous personalities, internet jokes, or viral trends rather than specific use cases. The measure, AB 2409, was signed alongside 10 other bills addressing corruption, consumer protection, and cryptocurrency crime.
Newsom framed the legislation as a rebuke of President Donald Trump's $TRUMP memecoin. Trump's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The $TRUMP token launched three days before Trump's early 2025 inauguration. Its price rose from under $1 to $75 within a day or two, reaching a market capitalization of $14 billion before declining sharply. Data tracked by Nansen shows 988,905 buyers lost a combined $3.81 billion. Trump's financial disclosure lists $636 million in royalties from the coin, with Trump Organization affiliates owning approximately 80% of the supply. As of the article's publication, the token traded at $2.03.
"No official should profit off their office — and we're putting stronger protections in place to ensure it doesn't happen in our state," Newsom said in a press release. It remains unclear whether the ban applies to meme tokens already in circulation.
Newsom's second and final term ends in January 2027. He is widely regarded as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
