Newsom signs California ban on public officials issuing memecoins
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2409 to bar state and local public officials from issuing memecoins and to restrict California-based digital asset service providers from offering certain official-linked memecoins to residents. The ban applies to tokens issued on or after Jan. 1, 2027. Newsom framed the law as preventing officials from profiting from public office, while criticizing President Trump’s crypto-related memecoin launch. The bill adds the memecoin ban to California’s Government Code and allows the attorney general, district attorneys, city attorneys, and county counsels to enforce it through civil action. Newsom also signed Senate Bill 1208, which expands money-laundering laws to cover illicit digital asset transactions and gives law enforcement broader authority to freeze, seize, and forfeit crypto connected to crimes.
