Melania Trump's cryptocurrency launch and its impact on the market
On the eve of her husband’s inauguration as President of the United States, future First Lady Melania Trump introduced a new cryptocurrency.
This announcement followed the launch of the $Trump coin, created by Donald Trump himself. Both cryptocurrencies saw an increase in value, but also faced volatility in the market.
"Official Melania Meme is now live! You can now buy $MELANIA," Melania shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
The "Official Melania Meme" website describes the cryptocurrency as an asset built and managed on the Solana blockchain. Both the $Trump and $Melania sites clarify that they are not intended to be seen as investment opportunities or securities.
As per CoinMarketCap, the $Trump coin has a market valuation of around $12 billion (£9.8 billion), while the $Melania coin is valued at approximately $1.7 billion.
While Trump previously called cryptocurrencies a "fraud," he became the first presidential candidate to accept digital asset donations during his 2024 campaign.
Throughout the campaign, Trump also announced plans to build a strategic bitcoin reserve and appoint regulators who would adopt a more crypto-friendly approach.
This raised expectations that his administration would ease cryptocurrency regulations.
After Trump's win, the price of bitcoin surged to a record high, now trading at $140,000, according to Coinbase.
Last Friday, David Sacks, the future head of AI and cryptocurrency initiatives, hosted the "Crypto Ball" event in Washington, DC.
Other cryptocurrencies, like Dogecoin—backed by entrepreneur Elon Musk, a prominent Trump supporter—also saw significant gains this year.
Under President Joe Biden, regulatory bodies have expressed concerns over fraud and money laundering, tightening oversight of cryptocurrency firms and taking legal action against exchanges.
