While both the coins have soared during their market entry on Jan. 19 and the Inauguration Day, the coins have taken a plunge—as much as 60%—in the past 24 hours amid heavy profit-taking after Monday’s inauguration
By Nileena Sunil
First Lady Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA, announced via a social media post on Sunday. This came two days after the launch of her husband, President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency, $TRUMP.
“The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now. https://melaniameme.com,” the first lady wrote on X.
While both the coins have soared during their market entry on Jan. 19 and the Inauguration Day, the coins have taken a plunge—as much as 60%—in the past 24 hours amid heavy profit-taking after Monday’s inauguration.
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The meme coins are trading on the Solana blockchain, and Trump’s cryptocurrency was trading at more than $70 by Sunday. However, that value came down to $40 after Melania introduced her own cryptocurrency. It has gone up to $60 since then, while the value of $MELANIA stands at $12 as of Monday.
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies usually inspired by internet memes or trends. They have no intrinsic value, rather their value depends on what buyers are willing to pay.
Trump’s stance of cryptocurrency has changed over time. He had once criticized Bitcoin as “not money” and “highly volatile and based on thin air.” However, his stance seems to have changed, with him receiving support from the crypto industry after embracing the new medium. In July 2024, he also addressed crypto’s largest convention.
The launch of Trump family’s cryptocurrencies has raised ethical concerns among experts.
Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, and an ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration stated that the launch of the meme coins so close to the inauguration raised serious questions about conflicts of interest.
“The coin’s value could be influenced by his actions or policies once in office, particularly as Trump has said he will be more crypto-friendly, which will likely further inflate the coin’s value at least temporarily,” Painter told CNN.
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Other critics include ethics watchdog Walter Shaub, and California Rep. Ro. Khanna. There has also been criticism of Trump’s action from within the crypto industry. “Trump owning 80% and timing launch hours before inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it,” former Coinbase Executive Nick Tomaino said in a post on X.
According to CoinMarketCap, Trump coin’s fully diluted value (which indicated the eventual total supply of Trump coins) stood at $54 billion as of Monday morning. According to the $TRUMP website, it is also the “only official Trump meme.”