Melania Trump launches cryptocurrency

Incoming First Lady Melania Trump launched her own crypto token on Sunday next President-elect Trump He announced his cryptocurrency, called Trump Coin, days before his return to the Oval Office.

Melania Trump unveiled her cryptocurrency, $MELANIA, on social media, as the incoming president held a victory rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on Sunday afternoon.

“The official Melania meme is alive!” Posted on X. “You can buy $MELANIA now.”

The coin entered the market at just pennies, and by Sunday evening, it was trading at more than $10.

President-elect Trump launches his own cryptocurrency ahead of his inauguration

The website associated with $MELANIA shows that 15% of the tokens will be available for public distribution.

But according to the Wall Street Journal, the $MELANIA token caused the TRUMP coin to collapse by more than 45% before recovering some of its value.

Trump announced the launch of $TRUMP on Friday, and in less than 24 hours, the value of the cryptocurrency rose from just a few cents to $33.87, representing a staggering price increase of over 18,000%. Like most cryptocurrenciesThe token is showing volatility, though, as it traded on Sunday evening at around $48, after peaking at around $76 earlier in the day.

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Both President-elect Trump and incoming First Lady Melania Trump have launched cryptocurrency tokens. (Giorgio Vieira/AFP) (Photo by Giorgio Vieira/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Trump announced the unveiling of the coin on Truth Social and Washington, DC.

FOX Business reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment, but has not received a response.

Trump promises to be the most crypto-friendly president in history, and he has pledged otherwise Biden administration The regulatory crackdown on the sector, which led to many US companies moving their operations abroad.

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President-elect Trump has pledged to be a crypto-friendly president. (Brett Carlsen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

When news of Trump’s cryptocurrency broke on Friday, many Crypto Ball attendees were skeptical, speculating that the president-elect’s accounts had been hacked. Donald Trump Jr., who was supposedly aware of the announcement, was cordoned off in a special VIP section. It is unclear if he has spoken to anyone there about the token launch.

Both currencies, which carry the tickers Trump and Melania, are known as “meme coins,” a type of highly speculative cryptocurrency that has no inherent utility and is often created based on a joke or parody, such as $PEPE, a meme image of a cartoon frog. Its market value is more than $7 billion.

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Sophisticated investors are often wary of meme currencies, not only because of their wild price fluctuations, but because of their tendency to be associated with scammers looking to make a quick profit on overzealous investors.

Last month, investors sued social media influencer Haley Welch, known as the “Hawk Toa Girl,” when the price of her meme coin, $HAWK, collapsed within hours of its launch, resulting in huge losses for investors.

FOX Business’s Eleanor Terrett contributed to this report.