On the eve of her husband, Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, Melania Trump made headlines with the launch of her own cryptocurrency, $MELANIA.
The new coin, which is built on the Solana blockchain, promises to offer a unique digital asset experience, one that is not intended to be an investment opportunity or security, as stated on its official website.
The platform highlights the coin’s use as a “memecoin,” distinct from more traditional investments.
The official announcement came directly from Melania Trump’s social media profile, where she tweeted: “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now.” The tweet was quickly retweeted by President-elect Donald Trump, solidifying the pair’s shared enthusiasm for the crypto world.
However, the launch of $MELANIA coincided with significant turbulence in the meme coin market, especially for Donald Trump’s own cryptocurrency, $TRUMP. Following the announcement of $MELANIA, $TRUMP saw a dramatic decline in value, dropping by nearly 40%.
The coin, which had been trading around $72 earlier in the day, fell to below $39 by evening, according to data from CoinGecko. The sell-off led to a reduction in market value by a staggering $6 billion, knocking down its total market capitalization from $14.5 billion to approximately $8.5 billion.
Despite the sharp decline, analysts noted that $TRUMP’s market cap was still significantly higher than its initial launch price, maintaining a massive 7,000% increase in value since its debut just days prior.
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At its peak, $TRUMP had surged into the crypto top 20, reaching a market capitalization of $14 billion. Currently, it stands at about $33 billion, making it a major player in the ever-growing world of meme coins.
In contrast, Melania Trump’s $MELANIA token offers a slightly different approach. Of its total supply, 45% is allocated for public distribution and liquidity provision on decentralized exchanges, while 20% is held by the project treasury and 35% goes to the team.
The project’s token vesting schedule has also been streamlined, with team tokens vesting over 13 months, providing a monthly distribution rather than a daily one, with an initial 30-day scaling period.
While the crypto world remains abuzz with the launch of $MELANIA, the timing has certainly overshadowed the volatility surrounding $TRUMP.
Analysts suggest that the massive sell-off of $TRUMP following the launch of Melania’s coin points to a possible market saturation of meme coins, but it remains to be seen whether $MELANIA can carve out its own place in the highly speculative and volatile market.
For now, both $MELANIA and $TRUMP continue to reflect the growing influence of the Trump family in the crypto sphere, further blurring the lines between celebrity, politics, and digital finance.
