The token’s early trades and rapid selloffs highlight regulatory gaps in politically branded crypto assets
A group of early buyers made nearly $150 million from Melania Trump’s meme coin within hours of its launch, an investigation by The Financial Times has revealed.
According to the publication, two dozen wallets acquired $2.6 million worth of MELANIA tokens less than three minutes before Donald Trump posted about the token’s official announcement on January 19.
Roughly 81% of the tokens were sold within 12 hours, capitalizing on a price surge that followed the public announcement.
Organizers linked to MELANIA withdrew $64.7 million in primary sales and fees, while early traders amassed $99.6 million.
Observers flagged the activity as insider trading, but it occurred outside current federal securities laws, as meme coins without clear utility remain exempt under SEC guidelines.
Blockchain analysis points to wallet clustering and controversial figures
On-chain forensics traced early token purchases to wallets potentially tied to Hayden Davis, a Texas-based crypto entrepreneur who has previously been linked to controversial projects.
Davis denied any direct gains from the MELANIA token. “There was no money made from the Melania team. Zero,” he said during an interview with investigative YouTuber Stephen Findeisen (Coffeezilla).
However, The Financial Times, using wallet mapping tool Bubblemaps, reported that the activity mirrored patterns seen in earlier incidents, including the LIBRA token scandal connected to Argentina’s President Javier Milei.
Those findings add weight to speculation that some memecoin launches may be strategically timed for insider profit.
Market volatility and controvery continues to surround the token
Following its explosive debut, MELANIA fell sharply from a peak of $13 after developer-linked wallets dumped over 31 million tokens into the market. At the time of writing this piece, it trades at $0.31.
The token’s unlock schedule began on February 19, releasing 3% of the supply, with an additional 2.25% distributed monthly.
The token issuer and entity previously associated with Melania Trump’s digital ventures, MKT World LLC, retains 800 million tokens, valued at approximately $260 million.
Melania Trump’s previous ventures into digital assets have also faced scrutiny, including allegations of wash trading in her “Head of State” NFT and questions surrounding her 2024 NFT philanthropy project.
Former CFTC Chairman Tim Massad criticized the involvement of presidential families in tokens as “plainly wrong”, citing conflicts of interest and regulatory gaps that expose retail investors to disproportionate risk.
