U.S. President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, is facing allegations of insider trading concerning the cryptocurrency 'Melania coin' that she issued.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 6th (local time) that several digital wallets began large-scale purchases minutes before the official announcement of the coin, securing about $100 million (139.53 billion won) in revenue.
Melania coin was made public when Melania posted on her social media platform Truth Social on the evening of January 19, just before President Donald Trump's reelection victory. However, FT analyzed that over 20 digital wallets had already purchased tokens worth a total of $2.6 million (about 360 million won) just 2 minutes and 30 seconds before the official announcement.
The coin's price skyrocketed immediately after the post, and those wallets sold about 81% of their held tokens within 12 hours. One wallet purchased coins worth $681,000 (about 950.6 million won) just 64 seconds before the announcement and earned $39 million (about 544 million won) within a day. This wallet subsequently sold additional amounts over the next three days, totaling $44 million (about 614 million won) in earnings.
This coin is a 'memecoin' and is a speculative cryptocurrency based on memes such as online celebrities or jokes rather than practical use. It is not subject to securities regulations, and there is virtually no legal regulation concerning insider trading or the leak of prior information during the issuance process.
Melania coin was announced following President Trump's 'Trump Official' coin. According to FT, the first transaction for Trump Official took place just 42 seconds after the official announcement, but for Melania, signs of organized purchases were detected before its announcement. Melania coin is currently trading at 33 cents each, with an undisclosed quantity of 800 million deemed to have a value of $26.59 million (about 371.25 billion won) based on market capitalization.
The coin was issued by 'MKT World LLC,' which is operated by Melania. This company, registered in Delaware, has reportedly been used by Melania for various businesses since 2021. However, FT pointed out that clear information regarding the issuing entity and revenue distribution model has not been disclosed.
A 28-year-old cryptocurrency entrepreneur from Texas, Hayden Davis, was involved in the coin's launch. He previously launched a memecoin called 'Libra,' which experienced volatility backed by temporary support from Argentina's President Javier Milei. FT reported that there are overlaps in the flow of funds between wallet addresses used in previous projects associated with Davis and the initial purchasing wallets for Melania.
Davis told FT, 'The Melania team did not withdraw any liquidity,' denying the allegations, but it has been reported that $64.7 million (about 90.4 billion won) has been withdrawn solely from the official revenue through Melania coin.
FT noted that the memecoin projects involving the Trump family generated more than $350 million (about 489 billion won) in total revenue, with accounts holding a significant amount of Trump Official skyrocketing after announcing a 'dinner with Trump.'