🔗 Share this article First Lady's Meme Coin Architects Facing Market Manipulation Scam Legal Action The architects behind a cryptocurrency released by US First Lady Melania Trump have been accused in court filings of executing a pump-and-dump scheme. Initial Launch and Value Spike The $MELANIA tokens were made available for under a dollar each on January 19th, the day before former President Trump took office. In addition to the First Lady's token, Donald Trump introduced his own digital currency shortly prior to the inauguration ceremony. In a matter of hours, the price of the $MELANIA coin soared to over $13 per token. Rapid Decline in Value However, the value plummeted just as rapidly, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – less than 1% of its peak price. Meanwhile, the $TRUMP coin hit a high of over forty-five dollars and currently exchanges for approximately five seventy-nine. Legal Allegations and Plaintiffs' Position The claimants assert that the currency's developers planned the maneuver aware that the cryptocurrency's price would decline sharply. The First Lady herself is not named in the lawsuit. Claimants stated they do not believe she was culpable, but accused the digital currency firms of exploiting her and other familiar faces as a facade for their illegal activities. Trading Venue Involvement In newly filed federal filings, plaintiffs allege leaders of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where the First Lady's token was originally listed, of establishing a plan that permitted them to indirectly purchase significant amounts of the digital token. Their partners then promptly liquidated these virtual tokens, securing large returns while triggering the market to collapse, per records entered in New York federal court. Broader Context The allegations concerning the Melania token have been added to legal proceedings regarding several other digital currencies, which commenced in the month of April. The Trump organization has allegedly generated over one billion dollars in pre-tax gains from multiple digital currency-linked enterprises and organizations over the last year.