California Governor Newsom signs memecoin ban for public officials

memecoin ban — California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that prohibits state and local public officials from issuing memecoins, a measure he directly linked to criticizing former President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 2409, was signed on Sunday and also bars digital asset service providers from offering certain memecoins issued by or in partnership with public officials to California residents. The law will apply to tokens issued on or after January 1, 2027.

“No official should profit off their office — and we’re putting stronger protections in place to ensure it doesn’t happen in our state,” Newsom said, explicitly citing Trump’s 2025 memecoin launch. The new statute authorizes the state’s attorney general and other local prosecutors to enforce the ban through civil action.

Newsom concurrently signed Senate Bill 1208, which expands California’s money laundering statutes to include illicit transactions made using digital assets and broadly authorizes law enforcement to freeze and seize crypto linked to crimes.