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Three days after the launch of Donald Trump’s meme coin, his wife, Melania Trump, introduced her own rival meme coin.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump (Reuters)
Donald Trump’s official meme coin $TRUMP, which he launched on January 17, has plummeted nearly 40 per cent after his wife and soon-to-be First Lady, Melania Trump, launched her own meme coin early today January 20 (late Sunday US time).
Announcing the launch of her meme coin, Melania wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now.” She also shared a link to a website selling the cryptocurrency.
According to a report by Forbes, Trump’s meme coin, $TRUMP, was ranked among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation, reaching an impressive $14 million.
However, hours before Trump’s oath, the launch of Melania Trump’s cryptocurrency, $MELANIA, sent the value of Trump’s coin into a sharp decline.
As people rushed to buy Melania’s meme coin, it pushed its value to over $7.41, giving it a fully diluted market capitalisation exceeding $5 billion. Both Melania’s and Trump’s coins are built on the Solana network.
According to CoinMarketCap, Trump’s meme coin initially launched at $0.18, has risen significantly to $44.08, while Melania’s coin currently stands at $7.41.
As per the official website of the crypto, 80 per cent of Trump’s meme coin is held by Trump Organisation affiliate CIC Digital, and Fight Fight Fight – an entity co-owned by CIC Digital.
Earlier, the US President-elect pitched himself as “crypto president” at a tech fundraiser in San Francisco as he slammed Democrats’ attempts to regulate the sector. He also proposed a bitcoin reserve, which would allow the federal government to buy and sell bitcoin. He also said that Bitcoin has shattered one record after another at his rally.
