Digital assets: meme coins.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details about specific penalties or enforcement mechanisms for meme coins already in circulation.

Meme Coins: Rules for Public Officials and Digital Asset Exchanges

This law stops public officials from creating meme coins and bans exchanges from selling them if they feature images of government people.

What This Bill Does

• It prohibits public officers and certain employees from issuing or creating meme coins.
• Businesses that operate digital asset exchanges cannot list for sale meme coins featuring the image of a federal, state, or local official.
• The Attorney General can take legal action against anyone who breaks these rules and ask them to give back any money they made from breaking the law.

Who It Names or Affects

• Public officers like elected or appointed officials at state and local levels.
• Employees of government entities with decision-making authority over bids and contracts.
• Businesses that operate digital asset exchanges.

Terms To Know

Meme coin

A type of cryptocurrency often based on internet memes or images, sometimes associated with public figures.

Public officer

An elected or appointed official at the state or local level who holds a position in government.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if someone breaks these rules other than legal action.
• It is unclear how this law will be enforced for meme coins already in circulation before the law was passed.

Official Summary Text

AB 2409, as amended, Valencia.
Digital assets: meme coins.
Existing law prohibits a state officer or employee from engaging in any employment, activity, or enterprise that is clearly inconsistent, incompatible, in conflict with, or inimical to their duties. Existing law also prohibits specified local agency officers or employees from engaging in any employment, activity, or enterprise for compensation that is inconsistent, incompatible, or in conflict with, or inimical to, their duties, as specified.
This bill would prohibit a public officer and specified public employees, as those terms are defined, from issuing a meme coin. The bill would define “public officer” for purposes of these provisions to include a state or local elected or appointed officer, including a Member of the Legislature, or an elected or appointed member of a governmental board, commission, committee, or other body, including a
governmental body that has only advisory powers. The bill would define “public employee” for these purposes to mean an employee of a state or a local government entity who has decisionmaking authority over bids and contracts for that entity.
This bill would also prohibit a business that operates a digital asset exchange from listing a meme coin for sale on behalf of, or for purchase by, a California resident if the meme coin contains the likeness or image of a federal public official or a state or local public officer.
This bill would require the Attorney General to enforce these prohibitions by filing a civil action for injunctive relief and would authorize the Attorney General to include a claim for disgorgement. The bill would additionally authorize a district
attorney
attorney, city attorney, or county counsel
to enforce the above-described prohibition on businesses that operate a digital asset exchange.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF