A recent Financial Times report alleges that a group of crypto traders purchased millions of dollars worth of Melania Trump’s memecoin, MELANIA, moments before its official public launch on January 19. The traders reportedly bought $2.6 million of MELANIA, later selling for roughly $100 million in profits after the token’s price spiked by 550% within hours of the announcement.
Investigations show that 24 accounts acquired 16.7 million out of 200 million total MELANIA tokens available during the launch period. Further purchases totaling $900,000 occurred seconds after the launch. The MELANIA token traded soon after Donald Trump announced his own TRUMP coin, both of which have since been scrutinized by lawmakers for possible conflicts of interest, corruption, and foreign influence.
The controversy intensified after a select group of TRUMP tokenholders were promised exclusive access to the former president at a private event, prompting at least one U.S. senator to call for impeachment. Both tokens' prices have fallen sharply since their respective launches. MELANIA has dropped to $0.31, while TRUMP, after a brief rally due to the dinner announcement, traded at $10.90 as of May 6. Concerns have also arisen regarding the concentration of TRUMP tokens, with 80% controlled by companies linked to Donald Trump, most of which are locked but set for release over three years, raising fears of potential rug pulls.