Melania Trump, soon-to-be first lady, launched her own cryptocurrency just before her husband’s inauguration, quickly amassing billions in minutes.
“The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now,” she posted on X on the evening of January 19, attracting nearly 20,000 investors within the first hour.
This launch followed the debut of Donald Trump’s $TRUMP coin, which currently holds a market valuation of around $12 billion (£9.8 billion).
Meanwhile, the $MELANIA coin is valued at approximately $1.7 billion.
The official website for the coin describes it as a way to “show support for and engagement with the values embodied by Melania.”
Both the $TRUMP and $MELANIA websites include disclaimers stating that the coins are “not intended to be, or the subject of,” an investment opportunity.
The release of the Melania coin led to an immediate drop in the value of the Trump coin, erasing billions from its market price, though it has since regained some of its losses.
Despite previously calling cryptocurrency a “scam,” Donald Trump seemed to shift his stance during the 2024 election campaign, becoming the first presidential candidate to accept crypto donations.
