Melania Trump launches her own cryptocurrency ahead of Trump's inauguration

The two coins are trading on the Solana blockchain. Trump's meme coin, which witnessed a rise over the weekend and was trading at over USD 70 by Sunday afternoon, reduced to USD 40 after Melania Trump launched her own coin.

US President-elect Donald Trump's wife Melania Trump has launched her own cryptocurrency ahead of Trump's inauguration, as per reports by several international media outlets.

The two coins are currently trading on the Solana blockchain. Trump's meme coin, which saw a surge over the weekend and was trading at over USD 70 by Sunday afternoon, fell to around USD 40 after Melania Trump launched her own coin.

However, it has since recovered some of those losses and was trading at around USD 60 early Monday, while $MELANIA was trading at just over USD 12 early Monday, according to CoinGecko.

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$TRUMP is the first cryptocurrency which has been supported by the President-elect, who once said that bitcoin was "based on thin air".

In a social media post on Sunday, Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA, tanking her husband's cryptocurrency $TRUMP, which was launched two days ago.

In a post on X, Melania Trump wrote, "The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now. https://melaniameme.com."

Meme coins are a type of highly volatile cryptocurrency inspired by popular internet memes and carry no intrinsic value. However, its price can rise or reduce.

In a post shared on X on Friday, Trump wrote, "My new official Trump meme is here! It's time to celebrate everything we stand for: winning! Join my very special Trump community. Get your $TRUMP now. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com. Have fun!"

In July 2024, Trump spoke at crypto's largest convention and also appointed Howard Lutnick, who backs the cryptocurrency company Tether, to lead the US Commerce Department. Lutnick is among several crypto enthusiasts who have been appointed in Trump's administration.

According to CoinMarketCap, the Trump coin's market capitalisation, which is based on the 200 million coins in circulation, is capped at USD 13 billion. There will be 1 billion Trump coins over the next three years, according to information on the meme coin's website.

Both $MELANIA and $TRUMP's websites have disclaimers stating that the coins are "intended to function as a support for, and engagement with" the values of their respective brands and "are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type".

According to the website, the meme coin is not politically affiliated. However, 80 per cent of the coin's supply is held by Trump Organisation-affiliates CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC. The two are subject to a three-year unlocking schedule, which means they will not be able to sell all of their holdings at once.

The $TRUMP coin's website states that it is "the only official Trump meme".

"Now, you can get your piece of history. This Trump meme celebrates a leader who doesn't back down, no matter the odds," reads a statement on the site.

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