A U.S. lawmaker is calling for a sweeping ban that would prevent President Donald Trump, his family, and all members of Congress from trading cryptocurrencies or stocks. The move follows rising concerns over potential conflicts of interest linked to Trump’s alleged involvement in a crypto project associated with his son.
Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California’s 17th Congressional District and vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, made the proposal during an interview on MSNBC. Khanna accused Trump of corruption related to the recent presidential pardon of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty last year to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.
"Blatant Corruption" in Trump’s Pardon of CZ
Khanna argued that the pardon of CZ, who was fined and sentenced for failing to implement proper Anti-Money Laundering controls at Binance, represented “blatant corruption.” He claimed that Zhao’s financial links to World Liberty Financial (WLFI) created a serious conflict of interest.
“You’ve got a foreign billionaire who was basically engaged in money-laundering,” Khanna said. “Then he petitions for a pardon from Donald Trump after funneling money to terrorists.”
Both Binance and Eric Trump have denied such claims. In a September interview, Eric insisted that his father “is running a nation” and “not involved in our businesses in any way, shape, or form.” CZ has also rejected similar accusations from Senator Elizabeth Warren, stating that she “can’t get her facts right.”
Calls for Broader Restrictions on Officials’ Financial Activity
Khanna concluded his remarks by calling for legislation that would ban any elected official from owning cryptocurrency or accepting foreign money. However, government records show that his proposal has not yet been formally introduced in Congress.
The debate over financial conflicts of interest in government has intensified in recent years, particularly around the bipartisan congressional stock trading bill, which seeks to limit lawmakers’ ability to trade individual stocks.
Yet, Khanna’s stance has drawn scrutiny due to his own financial record. According to data from Quiver Quant, the congressman has executed over $80.3 million in stock trades in 2025 alone and has made more than 35,000 trades totaling $580 million in volume since taking office in 2017.