On the eve of her husband’s inauguration as the President of the United States, incoming First Lady Melania Trump has announced the launch of her own cryptocurrency. This follows the recent introduction of the $Trump cryptocurrency by President-elect Donald Trump. Both digital coins have experienced significant interest and volatile trading since their respective launches.
Melania Trump took to the social platform X on Sunday to announce, “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $Melania now.” It is important to note that disclaimers on the websites for both the $Trump and $Melania coins state that these cryptocurrencies are “not intended to be, or the subject of” an investment opportunity or a security.
According to CoinMarketCap, the $Trump cryptocurrency currently has a total market valuation of approximately $12 billion (£9.8 billion), while the $Melania cryptocurrency stands at around $1.7 billion.
Despite previously labeling cryptocurrency as a “scam,” Donald Trump became the first presidential candidate to accept digital assets as donations during the 2024 election campaign. During this period, his family also launched a cryptocurrency company called World Liberty Financial, which aims to lead “a financial revolution by dismantling the stranglehold of traditional financial institutions.” This company is also selling a crypto coin.
The $Trump coin was launched by CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of the Trump Organization. This company is also linked to previous sales of crypto collectible NFTs launched in 2022, which initially made millions of dollars but have since seen a significant drop in value. According to CoinGecko, these NFTs once sold for over $1,000 but have now decreased to around $300.
Throughout his campaign, Trump promised to create a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and appoint financial regulators with a more favorable stance towards digital assets. This led to expectations that he would reduce regulations on the crypto industry. Following Trump’s election victory, Bitcoin surged to a record high of around $109,000, according to the crypto trading platform Coinbase.
In addition, the incoming artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto tsar, David Sacks, hosted a “Crypto Ball” in Washington, DC, on Friday. Other cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin—which has been promoted by high-profile Trump supporter Elon Musk—have also seen significant gains this year. Under President Joe Biden, regulators had cited concerns about fraud and money laundering as they cracked down on crypto companies by suing exchanges.
The rise of Dogecoin has significantly increased interest in so-called “meme coins,” which are cryptocurrencies typically linked to viral internet trends or moments. Melania Trump’s Meme coin was launched through her own incorporated company, MKT World LLC, which she has used since 2021 for various ventures, including selling portraits of herself as First Lady.
Meme coins can be created and launched by anyone, and there are thousands in existence. With their high profile and social media presence, both the Trump coin and Melania coin have quickly entered the top 100 coins in terms of value. Notably, Melania’s coin is now worth more than AI entrepreneur Sam Altman’s Worldcoin.
