Melania Trump's Meme Coin Architects Facing Pump-and-Dump Fraud Lawsuit
The designers behind a digital token launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump are now alleged in federal papers of executing a market manipulation plot.
Initial Launch and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were released for just a few cents each on January 19th, the day before Donald Trump took office.
Together with the Melania cryptocurrency, the former president launched his own digital currency just ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
Within hours, the price of the $MELANIA token soared to $13.73 per unit.
Sudden Collapse in Value
However, the price then collapsed with similar speed, and currently stands at approximately a dime – below 1% of its peak price.
At the same time, the $TRUMP coin hit a high of $45.47 and presently sells for $5.79.
Court Claims and Investors' Arguments
The plaintiffs claim that the token's architects organized the maneuver conscious that the token's worth would crash.
Melania Trump herself is not included in the legal action. The plaintiffs stated they do not think she was responsible, but alleged the blockchain organizations of leveraging her and other familiar faces as a facade for their illegal activities.
Exchange Platform Role
As per fresh legal documents, claimants charge officials of the Meteora trading platform, where $MELANIA was initially traded, of creating a operation that permitted them to indirectly purchase significant amounts of the virtual coin.
Their accomplices then quickly resold these cryptocurrencies, earning significant gains while causing the price to plummet, according to records entered in federal court in Manhattan.
Broader Context
The claims regarding $MELANIA have been added to judicial actions involving multiple additional cryptocurrencies, which started in spring.
Trump-associated entities has allegedly earned over a billion dollars in pre-tax profits from various digital currency-linked products and companies over the previous twelve months.