Khanna Pushes Ban on Political Crypto Trading

United States (US) Representative Ro Khanna is preparing to introduce new legislation that would prohibit all elected officials – including President Donald Trump and his family – from trading in cryptocurrencies and traditional equities, citing the risk of conflicts of interest.

Overview

Speaking on MSNBC, the California Democrat and vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus voiced concern over what he described as potential ethical violations tied to Trump’s family and their crypto-linked venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI). Khanna also criticised Trump’s recent pardon of Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, calling it an act of “blatant corruption.”

“You’ve got a foreign billionaire who was basically engaged in money laundering,” Khanna said, referring to CZ

.

“Then he petitions for a pardon from Donald Trump after funneling money to terrorists.”

Binance, WLFI, and Accusations of Favoritism

CZ, who last year pleaded guilty to one count of violating the US Bank Secrecy Act for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, has pushed back against such claims. He recently fired back at Senator Elizabeth Warren, saying she “can’t get her facts right.”

Khanna alleged that Zhao’s lenient treatment was linked to Binance’s financial support for WLFI, echoing similar comments from Representative Maxine Waters.

“He [CZ] says, ‘I’m going to support World Liberty,’ which is the president’s son’s cryptocurrency firm,”

Khanna said

. “They’re making millions while Donald Trump is president. And Trump gives him a pardon while he’s financing the president’s cryptocurrency stablecoin.”

Trump has repeatedly faced scrutiny over alleged ties to WLFI, though Eric Trump has consistently denied that his father has any involvement. In a September interview, Eric said,

“My father is running a nation. He’s not involved in our businesses in any way, shape, or form.”

Khanna’s Proposal: Ban Crypto and Stock Trading for Officials

While Khanna has yet to release the full text of his legislative proposal, he made his intentions clear: a sweeping ban on crypto holdings and foreign donations for elected officials.

“We should ban any elected official from having cryptocurrency and accepting foreign money,” he said.

As of now, no bill has been formally introduced, according to public legislative records.

Spotlight on Political Trading Practices

The debate over whether lawmakers should be allowed to trade stocks – or, increasingly, crypto – has intensified in Washington. A bipartisan congressional stock trading bill is currently awaiting a vote, reflecting growing frustration with potential conflicts of interest in government.

However, Khanna himself has come under scrutiny for his personal trading activity. Despite calling for stricter rules, data from Quiver Quantitative shows the congressman recorded $80.3 million in stock trade volume in 2025 alone.

Since first taking office in 2017, Khanna has executed over 35,000 trades, totaling more than $580 million in volume, primarily across the financial, information technology, and healthcare sectors.