Image credit: X

Donald Trump’s memecoin, TRUMP, experienced a sharp 38% decline in value following the unexpected launch of a rival memecoin by his wife, Melania Trump.

The MELANIA token, introduced on January 19 via a post on X by the former First Lady and shared by the incoming U.S. President, reached a staggering market cap of $6 billion within two hours of its debut.

According to DEXScreener data, over 45,000 wallets purchased MELANIA tokens shortly after its launch at 9 p.m. UTC.

This rapid surge contrasted sharply with the performance of TRUMP, which saw its market cap shrink by $5 billion, with its price plummeting from $74.60 to $45.90 in just 40 minutes, as per CoinMarketCap data.

The official website for MELANIA describes the token as a means to foster “support” and “engagement,” emphasizing that it is “not intended” as an investment vehicle.

The site detailed the token's purported distribution: 35% allocated to the development team, 20% each to treasury and community, 15% offered publicly, and 10% reserved for liquidity.

However, scrutiny from blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps revealed inconsistencies in these claims. A January 19 post by Bubblemaps noted that nearly 90% of the MELANIA token supply resides in a single wallet, raising concerns about the transparency of its distribution.

Industry experts have weighed in on the launch. Coinbase executive Conor Grogan dismissed the likelihood of MELANIA being a rug pull but pointed out significant disparities in its execution compared to TRUMP.

“My guess is that this token was handled by a different team than TRUMP’s,” Grogan stated. “That one looks like professional market makers; this one honestly looks like college kids.”

He also highlighted that the wallet responsible for creating MELANIA was funded via pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad.

Adding to the intrigue, intellectual property records indicate that the domain “melaniameme.com,” which facilitated MELANIA's launch, is owned by MKT World LLC. This company, established by Mrs. Trump in 2021, is registered at the same address as the Trump International Golf Club, according to Florida Department of State filings.

The launch of these tokens coincides with Donald Trump’s January 20 presidential inauguration, amplifying speculation about the strategic timing of these initiatives.

While MELANIA has enjoyed a meteoric rise, questions regarding its governance and transparency remain unanswered, leaving the memecoin market abuzz with speculation.

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