Melania Trump's Meme Coin Architects Hit with Market Manipulation Fraud Lawsuit
The architects responsible for a digital token launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been accused in federal papers of planning a market manipulation plot.
Coin Release and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were released for just a few cents each on January 19th, one day preceding former President Trump assumed the presidency.
In addition to the Melania cryptocurrency, Trump himself released his personal token a few hours before the inauguration ceremony.
Within hours, the market value of the $MELANIA coin skyrocketed to over $13 per coin.
Sudden Collapse in Price
Yet, the price then collapsed almost as quickly, and is now only about 10 cents – less than one percent of its maximum worth.
At the same time, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency hit a high of nearly forty-six dollars and currently exchanges for $5.79.
Legal Allegations and Plaintiffs' Position
The claimants allege that the token's architects organized the maneuver conscious that the token's worth would decline sharply.
The First Lady personally is not mentioned in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs indicated they do not think she was culpable, but charged the blockchain organizations of using her and other familiar faces as window dressing for their fraudulent schemes.
Trading Venue Involvement
In newly filed federal filings, plaintiffs charge leaders of the Meteora trading platform, where $MELANIA was originally listed, of setting up a operation that enabled them to indirectly purchase significant amounts of the digital token.
Associated individuals then promptly liquidated these cryptocurrencies, pocketing substantial profits while triggering the market to collapse, per records entered in federal court in Manhattan.
Wider Proceedings
The allegations about the First Lady's coin have been added to judicial actions regarding various other digital currencies, which started in spring.
The Trump family has allegedly secured more than $1 billion in pre-tax profits from several cryptocurrency-related enterprises and organizations over the last year.
