Crypto

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 2409, barring public officials in the state from issuing meme coins and restricting cryptocurrency platforms from offering tokens linked to politicians to California residents. The bill was authored by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia.

The law empowers the state attorney general and certain prosecutors to enforce the restrictions and pursue surrender of profits obtained in violation of the measure. Lawmakers say the goal is to stop public officials from cashing in on speculative tokens tied to their names and to curb risks of financial conflicts of interest, undue political influence, and manipulation by special interests or foreign actors. The move follows a wave of politician-linked meme coins that gained traction in speculative crypto markets, raising concerns about insider profiteering and market manipulation. It marks one of the first state-level efforts to directly regulate this niche of the crypto industry.

An illegally operating Bitcoin mine in El Reno, Oklahoma, drained roughly 3.8 million gallons of the city's water supply in August, traced to a fire hydrant connected to a private line at a property owned by Athlon Blockchain Technology LLC. The resulting pressure loss forced school cancellations and a courthouse closure during a heat wave. City officials say Athlon had been under a stop-work order since 2023 over code and construction violations, but continued operating without their knowledge.

The incident has drawn attention to Oklahoma's 2024 Blockchain Basics Act, which supporters billed as bringing regulation to crypto mining but which critics say instead strips cities of power to zone against or otherwise restrict mining operations, mirroring model legislation pushed nationally by the Satoshi Action Fund, a Bitcoin mining advocacy group. Some lawmakers who backed or abstained on the bill now say they regret it, arguing it favored industry interests over local control and left towns like El Reno with few tools to stop noncompliant operators from jeopardizing public infrastructure.