A group of cryptocurrency traders banked nearly $100 million in profits through suspiciously timed transactions involving First Lady Melania Trump’s cryptocurrency token, according to a report.
Minutes before Melania Trump publicly announced the launch of her $MELANIA cryptocurrency, two dozen digital wallets rapidly purchased large quantities of the token, netting a collective $99.6 million windfall, an investigation by the Financial Times revealed.
The trading activity occurred in the critical two and a half minutes before the token’s public unveiling on Jan. 19.
The first lady unveiled the $MELANIA coin via a Truth Social post just hours before her husband’s inauguration — significantly boosting the token’s visibility and causing its value to skyrocket immediately after the announcement.
The suspicious activity involved traders purchasing around $2.6 million worth of tokens mere minutes before the public disclosure.
The profits were swiftly realized, with approximately 81% of the purchased coins sold within just 12 hours after Melania Trump’s announcement.
This rapid turnover strategy is common among cryptocurrency speculators, known colloquially as “snipers,” who exploit early knowledge to generate massive returns.
Cryptocurrency trades are recorded on blockchain technology, a transparent ledger system.
Despite the transparency, the identities behind these digital wallets typically remain anonymous.
Memecoins, such as $MELANIA, are speculative assets without intrinsic functions or regulatory oversight similar to traditional securities, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
The lack of regulation leaves retail investors at significant risk from manipulative trading practices.
One particularly notable transaction involved a single digital wallet investing $681,000 in $MELANIA tokens just 64 seconds before the project’s public announcement.
Within one day, the owner of this wallet had already profited $39 million, eventually earning an additional $4.4 million over the subsequent three days.
In total, these strategically timed purchases amounted to 16.7 million of the 200 million $MELANIA tokens made available at launch, highlighting the substantial advantage gained by traders acting on early information.
Unlike Melania Trump’s token, when the $TRUMP token — endorsed by President Donald Trump — launched two days prior, no similar pre-launch purchases occurred.
The earliest purchase of $TRUMP tokens happened only after its public announcement, underscoring the irregularities surrounding the $MELANIA coin.
Further deepening controversy, the investigation traced one early wallet directly to Hayden Davis, a Texas-based crypto entrepreneur previously linked to questionable crypto launches.
Despite this, Davis publicly denied wrongdoing, stating, “There was no money made from the Melania team. We didn’t take any liquidity out. Zero.”
Entities behind the $MELANIA token, independent from the pre-launch traders, separately accrued approximately $64.7 million from primary sales and transaction fees, according to FT.
Notably, the coin is managed by MKT World LLC, a Delaware-based company associated with Melania Trump since 2021, though its exact role and profit distribution remain undisclosed.
The Post has sought comment from Davis. A spokesperson for the first lady declined comment.
