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Today in crypto, Donald Trump’s memecoin sank after wife Melania Trump launched her own memecoin,
Google search volumes for crypto terms have surged and insider trading allegations have hit the US President-elect’s memecoin.
Melania Trump memecoin launch sinks husband’s token
Donald Trump’s self-titled memecoin Official Trump (TRUMP) dropped nearly 40% after his wife
Melania launched her own self-named Melania Meme (MELANIA) token.
Mrs Trump first promoted her token in a Jan. 19 X post that her husband also shared.
It quickly attracted attention, and in just under four hours after launching, it reached a peak market cap of over $13 billion but has since fallen to around $10.5 billion.
Meanwhile, TRUMP hit a peak valuation of $14.92 billion just as MELANIA launched, which then dropped to around $7.8 billion over the next two and a half hours.
TRUMP nearly halved in price over that time, dropping from a high of $74.6 to under $40 over that same time, but has since recovered to over $61 in early trading on Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, the Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial crypto platform completed the initial sale for 20% of its 100 billion token supply and is selling an additional 5 billion tokens while hiking the price from 1.5 cents to 5 cents each.
Google search volume for crypto-related terms spikes amid TRUMP rally
Google search volumes for crypto-related terms surged amid a memecoin frenzy driven by the launch of United States President-elect Donald Trump’s Official TRUMP memecoin.
Out of a scale of 100, with 100 being the highest search volume, both terms surged to 100 on Jan. 19.
The President-elect of the United States will assume office on January 20, 2025,
with many crypto industry executives expecting a friendlier regulatory climate under the incoming administration.
Many analysts and crypto industry executives view Trump’s memecoin launch as a signal that the crypto industry will reach new heights under the incoming President.
Others have characterized the memecoin launch as a political “grift” that will likely plummet in value, following the trajectory of many other celebrity memecoins.
Insider trading allegations surface as TRUMP memecoin floods Solana DEXs
Suspicious trading activity has emerged around US President-elect Donald Trump’s Solana-based Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin as its market cap soared to $42 billion, drawing a frenzy of retail investors.
On Jan. 18, Bubblemaps, an onchain analytics firm, investigated a crypto wallet funded with $1 million four hours before the TRUMP token’s launch.
Onchain data reveals that the wallet purchased $5.9 million worth of TRUMP tokens in the first minute of its launch and later sold $20 million while retaining $96 million in tokens.
TRUMP tokens were then routed through a wallet and distributed to 10 other wallets, now actively selling on Solana decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
This pattern of trade has raised concerns about potential market manipulation as the TRUMP memecoin continues to dominate headlines.
Preetam Rao, CEO of QuillAudits, a Web3 security company, expressed concerns about the TRUMP token’s allocation structure and purpose.
“Eighty percent of the supply is locked for CIC Digital, a company owned by the Donald Trump Revocable Trust. This is the same entity that launched Trump NFT Trading Cards three years ago.
The website says it’s ‘not an investment but a show of support,’” Rao said.
Rao noted that the top 10 holders own 89.06% of the supply, and there’s no clarity on the liquidity pool burn status. “Interestingly, the token was launched in an Asian morning time zone. It feels like this is just a way for Trump to make money,” he said.
He told Cointelegraph:
“We can see some insider traders involved, but I feel if the US government is supporting projects to set a roadmap for innovation in the country. Maybe it’s a rug pull, but it lays the foundation for innovation”