Public Citizen Files Complaint Over Trump’s Meme Coin, Cites Foreign Payment Risks – Decrypt

U.S. nonprofit Public Citizen is calling for a federal investigation into whether President Donald Trump violated laws barring gift solicitation by allegedly promoting a Solana-based meme token, citing concerns over untraceable foreign payments.

The government, corporate, and consumer watchdog lodged its formal complaint with the Department of Justice and Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday, citing Trump’s social media posts, which it says were used to promote his Official Trump (TRUMP) token after taking office in January.

The DOJ, OGE, and Public Citizen did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attempts to reach the President through the White House Press Office went unanswered.

Trump appears to be “soliciting money in exchange for nothing—that is, asking for a gift that will benefit him personally,” Public Citizen’s Bartlett Naylor and Craig Holman wrote in their complaint.

The complaint cites several legal concerns surrounding Trump’s promotion of the meme coins, involving multiple overlapping areas of federal law, constitutional provisions, and ethical guidelines.

Beyond gifting rules, Public Citizen raised constitutional concerns about the meme coin’s ability to mask foreign payments that were banned under the Emoluments Clause.

“Because of the nature of a cryptocurrency exchange, it is difficult to know whether foreign state actors are gifting the president by way of purchasing a Trump meme,” the complaint states.

The complaint argues that allowing such solicitations to go unchecked could normalize the exploitation of public office for profit, eroding federal ethics laws while arguing officials should be barred from personal enrichment through such means.

“Should the president be allowed to enrich himself in this way, other politician[s] might follow this path,” Naylor and Holman wrote.

Follow the money

The meme token’s website explains it is 80% owned by CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization controlled by Trump’s revocable trust, of which he is the sole beneficiary.

Data visualized through Bubblemaps shows the token’s transfer activity and holder concentration, with the largest bubble holding 80% as described in its tokenomic model.

The token itself has shaved 32% of its value in the past week due to a broader crypto downturn and increased volatility triggered by Trump’s proposed tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico.

While the president has since walked back Tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a 10% levy on all Chinese imports remains in place. 

In response, China has imposed retaliatory tariffs, including a 15% levy on U.S. coal and LNG and 10% on crude oil, farm equipment, trucks, and large-engine sedans imported from the U.S.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair