Melania token release imminent information leak suspicion...Hundreds of billions of profit gap
Suspicions of Price Manipulation Raised with US First Lady Melania Trump's Meme Coin 'Melania' (Source: Melania)
Just before US President Donald Trump's wife Melania Trump was to unveil a meme coin named after her, “Melania Token (MELANIA)”, there was evidence of it being pre-purchased in large quantities for huge profits. Financial Times (FT) reported on the 6th, citing anonymous sources and on-chain data, that some traders concentrated on purchasing Melania Tokens just minutes before the official announcement, then sold after prices soared, earning a profit of approximately $100 million (about 138.6 billion won).
According to the report, just minutes before Ms. Melania announced the token on social media ‘TruthSocial’ on January 19, approximately 24 wallet addresses purchased a total of 16.7 million Melania Tokens. Within 42 seconds of the official announcement, another 22 wallets injected about $900,000, and prices spiked to as high as $13.69. Most of them disposed of their holdings within 12 hours.
FT analyzed that one wallet purchased $680,000 worth of tokens 64 seconds before the announcement and earned about $39 million in one day, and another wallet earned $2.5 million in two hours with a $40,000 investment 141 seconds before the official announcement. Some accounts appear to be related to companies linked to cryptocurrency entrepreneur Hayden Davis, who appears to be involved in the development of the Melania Token.
The Melania Token was launched a day before President Trump was inaugurated, subsequently plummeting about 97% and raising suspicions of a ‘Ponzi Scheme’. Nonetheless, last month, when President Trump announced dinner plans with holders of his issued meme coin TRUMP, the Melania Token price temporarily surged.
FT pointed out that Melania Token is not classified as a security in the US and is therefore not subject to legal sanctions related to insider trading or price manipulation. The token is being sold through ‘MKT World’, registered in Delaware, but it is not confirmed if this company is the actual issuer of the token. Ms. Melania’s side has not made an official statement regarding this report.
Currently, about 80% of the meme coins related to President Trump are managed by two private companies, and the overall supply is reportedly set to be gradually distributed in the market over the next three years. This repeated structure of pre-purchasing and rapid price surges followed by declines is further fueling suspicions of conflicts of interest and insider trading both inside and outside the political sphere.