Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, is seeking information from the Securities and Exchange Commission over its decision to relax federal regulations around meme coins weeks after Trump and first lady Melania Trump released their own versions.
The SEC defines a meme coin as a type of crypto asset inspired by internet memes, characters, current events, or trends. In a staff statement last month, the agency said because of its view that meme coins are typically purchased for entertainment and social interaction rather than financial value, owners of the asset do not have to abide by federal regulations.
“Persons who participate in the offer and sale of meme coins do not need to register their transactions with the Commission under the Securities Act of 1933,” a February statement from the agency reads. “Accordingly, neither meme coin purchasers nor holders are protected by the federal securities laws.”
In a letter to acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda, Warren highlighted the financial benefits the Trumps incurred through the coins and wrote the rule change “conveniently presents a legal interpretation that could shield the President and First Lady’s coins from regulatory scrutiny.”
“By the afternoon of January 20th, the coins were reportedly worth a combined $9.5 billion and attracted large numbers of first-time crypto investors,” the senator added. “Though the $TRUMP coin lost roughly two-thirds of its value within a few weeks of launch, President Trump’s companies earned nearly $100 million in fees; small retail investors, meanwhile, lost money.”
Warren in the letter characterizes meme coins as “direct threats to consumers” that could benefit from more, not less, oversight.
The information the senator is requesting from the SEC includes “all communications” between the agency and the White House,” and more specifically, whether the agency has taken directives from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, a board formed by Trump in January that includes Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“It is essential that the Commission issue policy proposals designed to benefit the American public—not the President’s bottom line,” her letter reads.
