22nd January 2025 – (New York) The first lady Melania Trump has made headlines by launching her own cryptocurrency on the eve of her husband’s inauguration as U.S. president. This move follows President-elect Donald Trump’s launch of the $Trump cryptocurrency, with both coins experiencing price fluctuations in the volatile crypto market.
Announcing the new venture on the social platform X, Melania Trump stated, “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $Melania now.”
Disclaimers on the websites of both the $Trump and $Melania coins emphasize that they are not intended to be viewed as investment opportunities or securities.
$Trump currently boasts a market valuation of approximately $12 billion, while $Melania’s market value stands at around $1.7 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Although Trump had previously criticised cryptocurrencies as a “scam,” during the 2024 election campaign, he became the first presidential candidate to accept digital assets as donations. His family also launched a cryptocurrency company named World Liberty Financial, aimed at revolutionising the financial sector by challenging traditional financial institutions.
The Trump coin was released through Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital LLC, which has a connection to the earlier launch of crypto collectible NFTs in 2022. These NFTs initially achieved significant sales but have since seen a decline in value.
During his campaign, Trump proposed creating a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and appointing financial regulators supportive of digital assets, sparking anticipation of eased regulations within the crypto industry.
Following Trump’s electoral success, Bitcoin surged to a record high of approximately $109,000 on the Coinbase trading platform. Recently, David Sacks, the incoming artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto tsar, hosted a “Crypto Ball” event in Washington, DC.
With other cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin gaining popularity, particularly due to endorsements from prominent Trump supporter Elon Musk, the crypto landscape has witnessed significant shifts. Regulators under President Joe Biden have raised concerns about fraud and money laundering, resulting in increased scrutiny of crypto companies through legal actions against exchanges.
The emergence of meme coins, including Melania’s Meme coin, has added a new dimension to the crypto market. Melania’s coin, created through her company MKT World LLC, has already gained traction and surpassed the value of AI entrepreneur Sam Altman’s Worldcoin, making it a notable player in the crypto space.
