Melania Trump unveils cryptocurrency before Donald Trump's inauguration.
- Melania Trump has launched a meme coin called "Melania."
- On the night before Donald Trump's inauguration as president of the United States, it was revealed that a coin would be minted to commemorate the occasion.
- After President-elect Donald Trump introduced his own meme coin, "Official Trump," several days have passed.
Melania Trump, the incoming first lady, unveiled her own meme coin before her husband's inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on Monday.
She declared on a Sunday evening post on the X social media platform that investors can purchase $MELANIA.
At 10:48 a.m. London time on Monday, the Melania token was trading at $11.16, up more than 50%, according to CoinMarketCap data. Its market cap is $2.15 billion.
On Monday, the "Official Trump" coin, which was launched by President Donald Trump on Friday via the Solana Blockchain network, was down 20% to trade at $53.74 at 10:53 a.m. London time, according to CoinMarketCap.
At 10:35 a.m. London time, according to CoinGecko data, the cryptocurrency of Donald Trump was the largest meme coin on the Solana network by market cap, with Melania Trump's token in fourth place.
The disclaimer on the meme coin's official website states that Melania memes are digital collectibles meant to express support for and engagement with the values represented by the symbol MELANIA and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be investment opportunities, investment contracts, or securities.
The cryptocurrency on Trump's website is advertised as a historical artifact, with an image of Trump giving a fist salute, while Trump is referred to as the "crypto president."
Trump, who has previously expressed support for cryptocurrencies and is reportedly planning to make them a national priority, has pledged to release 1 billion "Official Trump" tokens in the next three years. At least 200 million of these coins were circulated during the initial release.
Meme coins
Grzegorz Drozdz, a market analyst at Conotoxia, advised caution when investing in assets like the Trumps' cryptocurrencies in emailed comments on Monday.
"Meme cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and are typically viewed as speculative assets," he stated. "The tokens released by the Trumps seem to indicate their support for the digital currency industry. However, the introduction of these coins during the presidential inauguration raises questions about potential conflicts of interest."
CNBC could not obtain immediate comment from representatives for Donald and Melania Trump.
Bitcoin, the world's most valuable digital coin, has been known to experience significant price fluctuations, with rises or falls of thousands of dollars in a single day. Altcoins like ether and XRP have proven even more prone to price fluctuations.
In 2021, a token based on the hit show "Squid Game" experienced a wild rally due to hype surrounding the series, but then lost almost all of its value, costing some investors tens of thousands of dollars.
On Sunday, following the launch of the "Melania" token, the president-elect's "Official Trump" coin experienced a 40% crash, as reported by analysts at The Kobeissi Letter in a Sunday post on X.
— CNBC's Ryan Browne contributed to this report.
Markets
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