Melania Trump Just Launched Her Own Memecoin

The Trump family’s foray into cryptocurrency has taken a dramatic turn. As US President-elect Donald Trump prepares for his inauguration, the launch of his wife Melania Trump’s memecoin, MELANIA, has sent shockwaves through the crypto market.

MELANIA Token Skyrockets While TRUMP Takes a Hit

On January 19, Melania Trump announced her self-titled memecoin in a post on X (formerly Twitter), a move supported by her husband. Within hours of its launch, MELANIA reached a $6.14 billion market cap, with over 45,000 wallets purchasing the token, according to DEXScreener data.

Image @MelaniaTrump via X

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Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s TRUMP token, which had previously hit a $15 billion valuation, saw its value plummet by 38% in just 40 minutes. CoinMarketCap reports the token’s price fell from $74.6 to $45.9, wiping $5 billion off its market cap.

What’s Behind the MELANIA Token?

The MELANIA token’s website claims the memecoin was created to express “support” and “engagement” rather than as an investment. It outlines the token distribution as follows: 35% to the team, 20% each to the treasury and community, 15% to the public, and 10% for liquidity.

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However, blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps contradicted this, revealing that nearly 90% of the token supply is held in a single wallet.

Image @Bubblemaps via X

Coinbase executive Conor Grogan weighed in, suggesting that the MELANIA token may lack the professional backing of the TRUMP token. “My guess is that this token was handled by a different team than TRUMP’s,” he said. “That one looks like professional market makers; this one honestly looks like college kids.”

Grogan also noted that the creator wallet for MELANIA was funded via a Solana memecoin launchpad, pump.fun, raising questions about its origins.

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Criticism and Questions of Credibility

The token’s rollout has faced scrutiny. Crypto developer “cygaar” pointed out that the MELANIA website, created just a day before the launch, lacks basic cybersecurity protections and contains subpar frontend code. The intellectual property for the website, melaniameme.com, is tied to MKT World LLC, a company established by Melania Trump in 2021 and registered at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.

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The Bigger Picture

The memecoin launches come on the eve of Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration, with many seeing the tokens as part of a broader branding play rather than a serious crypto project. While the MELANIA token has attracted significant interest, its rushed execution and opaque distribution have sparked skepticism.

With memecoins often associated with speculative hype, the Trump family’s crypto ventures underscore the volatile, unpredictable nature of the market. Whether MELANIA or TRUMP tokens become lasting successes or brief fads remains to be seen.