First Lady's Meme Coin Architects Hit with Market Manipulation Scam Lawsuit
The architects responsible for a virtual coin released by US First Lady Melania Trump are now alleged in federal papers of planning a pump-and-dump scheme.
Initial Launch and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were released for just a few cents each on January 19, one day preceding Donald Trump was inaugurated.
Together with the Melania cryptocurrency, Donald Trump released his own digital currency just ahead of the presidential inauguration.
In a matter of hours, the price of the $MELANIA token skyrocketed to $13.73 per coin.
Rapid Decline in Value
Nevertheless, the price subsequently crashed almost as quickly, and currently stands at less than 15 cents – less than one percent of its maximum worth.
Meanwhile, the $TRUMP token achieved a maximum of nearly forty-six dollars and currently exchanges for approximately five seventy-nine.
Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments
The claimants assert that the currency's developers organized the scheme aware that the digital currency's value would plummet.
Melania Trump herself is not mentioned in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs stated they do not think she was responsible, but alleged the crypto companies of leveraging her and other familiar faces as a cover for their fraudulent schemes.
Trading Venue Involvement
As per fresh federal filings, investors allege leaders of the Meteora digital asset exchange, where $MELANIA was originally listed, of establishing a scheme that permitted them to secretly buy large quantities of the virtual coin.
Their partners then promptly liquidated these virtual tokens, pocketing substantial profits while causing the value to crash, as stated in records entered in New York federal court.
Broader Context
The claims about $MELANIA have been added to judicial actions concerning several other cryptocurrencies, which started in the month of April.
The Trump family has allegedly generated more than a billion dollars in pre-tax earnings from several blockchain-associated ventures and firms over the previous twelve months.
