STABLE GENIUS Act

The "STABLE GENIUS Act" aims to prevent federal elected officials and candidates from engaging in financial transactions involving digital assets . This prohibition applies to the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, Delegates, Resident Commissioners, and individuals running for these offices. A prohibited financial transaction includes the issuance, sponsorship, endorsement, purchase, sale, or any other action that results in obtaining a digital asset, whether directly or through synthetic means like derivatives or aggregated funds. These restrictions are in effect during a covered individual's candidacy, their entire term of service, and for a period of one year after their service concludes. An exception allows covered individuals to place existing digital asset holdings into a qualified blind trust , which must be approved by an ethics office. The trustee of such a trust is required to divest assets within six months, certify annually that no information is shared with the individual, and must not have a close relationship with them. To ensure transparency, supervising ethics offices must make all approved blind trust agreements publicly available. Violations of these prohibitions can lead to substantial consequences, including civil monetary penalties of up to $250,000 and the disgorgement of any unlawful profits. Furthermore, knowing violations that cause significant financial loss or result in personal financial benefit can incur severe criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment for up to 18 years.