After a prolonged period of silence, the First Lady has promoted her Solana-based MELANIA meme coin in a newly released AI video.
Despite a momentary price increase, the token still experiences a staggering 98% decline from its peak in January. Trump is also facing criticism over the $10 million worth of community tokens sold by team wallets.
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New MELANIA AI Post Sparks Trading
Trump showcased her namesake meme coin this week on X with an AI-generated video, captioned “Into the Future,” tagging the coin’s official account.
This social media update surprised many, reactivating an account that had been dormant since June. This unexpected move led to a price spike for the token, which rose from $0.16 to $0.19 before falling back. As of this writing, the MELANIA token is trading at $0.18, according to CoinGecko.
However, the post notably lacked any remarks from Trump regarding the significant token sales earlier this year.
Crypto Analysts Raise Red Flags
Following the announcement, blockchain analysts voiced concerns regarding the management of community funds by the MELANIA meme coin team.
In April, the MELANIA project moved and sold over $30 million worth of community tokens without providing any explanations, based on on-chain data from Bubblemaps. This platform also revealed that $10 million in tokens had been withdrawn from community pools and sold.
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This lack of transparency prompted analysts to criticize the project for its opacity.
“Melania Trump won’t address the $10M of community tokens sold by team wallets. Just post an AI video after 10 months of silence,” Bubblemaps stated in a social media update today.
In another occurrence that same month, the MELANIA project team strategically sold over $1.5 million in tokens within three days, taking advantage of a brief 21% price rebound. They employed a strategy akin to Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA), opting for smaller, staggered sales instead of a massive sell-off.
This calculated tactic enabled the team to offload considerable holdings, creating sustained selling pressure on the token and reducing the risk of immediate, catastrophic price declines.
Controversy Over Presidential Tokens
Trump infamously launched her meme coin just before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. The token quickly soared, peaking at $13.73 before crashing, and its price has never recovered.
The MELANIA token launch closely followed that of the President’s own. Unlike MELANIA, the TRUMP token witnessed more periods of success, enjoying price surges after significant policy announcements.
The TRUMP token has also drawn considerable public criticism, largely fueled by claims of market manipulation.
The controversy reached its peak in May when the President hosted the top 220 token holders for an exclusive dinner at his Virginia golf club. Critics scrutinized the event heavily, accusing Trump of misusing public office for personal financial benefit, especially since the event’s publicity also boosted the token’s price.
