Melania Trump’s controversial new entrance into the crypto world is getting dragged. A new lawsuit alleges that the developers of her newly launched coin, $MELANIA, were involved in a pump-and-dump scheme. The cryptocurrency, which debuted in January, first garnered widespread attention with its skyrocketing price and extreme volatility.
Like so many cryptocurrency tokens, the $MELANIA token had a quick spike immediately after its launch, soaring to a price of $13.73 just hours into existence. However, this spike was short-lived. The value of $MELANIA plummeted immediately upon its release. Right now, the token is trading at about 10 cents, or under 1% of its all-time high. The abrupt drop has some people scratching their heads. It’s sparked claims that the coin’s developers rigged the market so they could profit off the speculation.
Donald Trump is not even fully in office yet, and $TRUMP is already less useful than his other initiatives! This has occurred at the same time as the allegations of impropriety surrounding $MELANIA. The Trump family was already deep in the cryptocurrency game and the move has proven to be a fabulous payout. Estimates suggest they’ve made more than $1 billion pre-tax profits from their crypto related products and companies in the last twelve months.
Yet the lawsuit does not directly name Melania Trump. At the same time, it gets at some bigger issues and questions of integrity of how the cryptocurrency industry should be regulated. Upper East Side dwellers aside, the allegations against the designers of $MELANIA raise red flags about transparency in the market. These issues are heightened as cryptocurrencies continue to gain popularity among investors.
Only time will tell what this case means for Melania Trump as the controversy continues to develop. Her role in various cryptocurrency projects will be under the spotlight. The broader ramifications for the cryptocurrency market could emerge as more details come to light regarding the alleged fraudulent activities.