US House passes Stop Insider Trading Act amid loophole debate

The US House passed the “Stop Insider Trading Act” by a 232-198 vote, sending the congressional stock trading ban to the Senate, despite criticism that it leaves loopholes. If enacted, the Stop Insider Trading Act would bar members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from buying securities issued by publicly traded companies. However, lawmakers would not be forced to sell existing holdings. They could keep current positions and sell shares only after filing a public notice 7–14 days in advance with the House clerk or Senate secretary. Representative Bryan Steil introduced the bill in January. Penalties would include either a $2,000 fine or 10% of the prohibited investment value (whichever is higher), plus forfeiture of profits from covered trades. Sen. Elizabeth Warren argues the ban is still too weak because it allows officials to hold and sell individual stocks they already own. Separately, Steil’s “Stop Lawmakers from Predicting Act” would target prediction-market political wagers on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, aiming to reduce conflicts where officials could profit from nonpublic information. For crypto traders, the key takeaway is regulatory-and-governance sentiment around political prediction markets rather than a direct token rule change. Still, tighter scrutiny could affect how traders price political-event risk and how compliant prediction venues operate.