The launch of the Melania MELANIA/USD meme coin, tied to former First Lady Melania Trump, has stirred controversy

Within minutes of the token's quiet creation and prior to any public acknowledgment by Melania Trump on Truth Social, 24 crypto wallets purchased $2.6 million worth of MELANIA

The launch of the Melania MELANIA/USD meme coin, which is tied to former First Lady Melania Trump, has stirred controversy following a series of unusually timed trades that suggest some investors had early access before its official debut.

What Happened: Within minutes of the token's creation and ahead of any public acknowledgment by Melania Trump on Truth Social, 24 crypto wallets purchased $2.6 billion worth of MELANIA, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Just days later, those same wallets offloaded their positions for a staggering $100 million in profits.

The speed, scale and timing of these trades raise serious concerns over how information was distributed ahead of launch.

Meme coins, unlike traditional IPOs, are often priced near zero initially and allowed to find market value. This dynamic attracts opportunists known as "snipers," who attempt to buy in early and dump when prices surge.

As one project organizer, Hayden Davis, had previously acknowledged in a separate interview, "Every launch this happens… where it's like three to ten guys get these massive chunks."

Davis, who had been associated with the ill-fated LIBRA coin, claimed that no members of the MELANIA team profited from the launch. However, he has not responded to direct questions about this project.

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Why It Matters: In contrast, the launch of the Trump TRUMP/USD token, which was endorsed by Donald Trump, appeared more structured. No early access was permitted, and preparations began weeks in advance. The token's promotional website was registered nearly a month before launch, and liquidity was added to its trading pool well ahead of Trump's announcement.

The MELANIA launch, by comparison, was far more chaotic. The domain melaniameme.com was only registered the day of the launch. The token itself was created just 78 minutes before the announcement, and trading liquidity was funded less than an hour before Melania’s post went live.

Despite both tokens having identical supply structures—one billion tokens, with 20% released initially—the on-chain data paints a different picture. TRUMP’s remaining 800 million tokens were clearly sent to a reserve address, easily tracked on the blockchain. For MELANIA, the tokens are dispersed across numerous accounts, making auditing and verification significantly more difficult.

While meme coins inherently lack the regulation and oversight of traditional securities, the disparity in how these two Trump-themed tokens were launched raises broader concerns about transparency, fairness, and the potential for misuse, especially when tied to political figures with significant influence.