"Melania Trump Memecoin Scandal Unveiled: $30M Quietly Sold"

The Controversial Case of Melania Trump's Memecoin

The team behind US First Lady Melania Trump’s memecoin, Melania Meme (MELANIA), has sparked controversy after reportedly moving $30 million worth of tokens out of the project's community funds. According to blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps, the team has begun quietly selling these tokens without providing an explanation to the community.

Bubblemaps revealed in an April 7 post that 50 million MELANIA tokens, equivalent to around $30 million, were transferred from community funds and then sold. The tokens were initially moved to a single wallet before being distributed across multiple addresses. Subsequently, $3 million worth of tokens were sent to exchanges, two new $6 million positions were opened, and $500,000 worth of MELANIA was sold.

Despite these significant movements, the MELANIA team has remained silent and has not addressed the situation. Bubblemaps also highlighted that 92% of MELANIA’s total supply is held in "team wallets," raising concerns about the project's future.

MELANIA Token's Price Plunge

The MELANIA token was launched on January 19, one day after former President Donald Trump introduced his own memecoin. Since its launch, the token has experienced a sharp decline in value, plummeting over 96% from its peak price of over $13 in January. Currently, MELANIA is trading at $0.51, reflecting a decrease of over 7.5% in the last 24 hours.

Bubblemaps previously reported that Hayden Davis, who claimed to have contributed to the creation of MELANIA, was selling MELANIA tokens through single-sided liquidity pools. Davis allegedly used a similar tactic to sell LIBRA, another memecoin he was involved in, which led to a political scandal after its value crashed.

Interest in memecoins has dwindled in recent times, coinciding with a broader market downturn. Data from Dune Analytics revealed that the number of tokens launched on memecoin launchpad Pump.fun has significantly decreased since January, indicating a decline in memecoin activity on the Solana blockchain. The overall number of tokens launched on Solana has also dropped, underscoring the fading hype around memecoins this year.

The future of MELANIA and other memecoins remains uncertain as market conditions evolve and interest shifts away from speculative tokens. Whether these projects can regain their footing or face further challenges is a topic of ongoing debate within the cryptocurrency community.