Melania Trump confirmed, just hours before the inauguration when her husband, Donald Trump, will officially become the 47th president of the United States, the launch of her own meme cryptocurrency, following in her husband’s footsteps who did the same this weekend.
The future first lady, who will resume duties this Monday, announced via her official X profile the release of her own meme, a cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value tied to a joke or image without an underlying asset to back it up.
“The official Melania meme is now available! You can buy $MELANIA today,” she proclaimed.
Previously, the incoming president Donald Trump had announced via Truth Social the launch of his own memecoin.
“Here’s my NEW official Trump meme! It’s time to celebrate what we stand for: WIN! Join my Trump community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW! Have fun.”
On the respective sales sites created for their sale, it is stated that Melania’s and Donald Trump’s memecoins are digital collectibles designed to express support and commitment to the values embodied by the symbols $MELANIA or $TRUMP and the associated artwork, and they are “not intended to be, nor to constitute, an investment opportunity, contract, or any form of value.”
From “scam” to Bitcoin reserve
While Trump initially labeled cryptocurrencies as a scam, during the 2024 campaign to return to the White House he became the first presidential candidate to accept digital assets as donations and signaled plans to create a strategic bitcoin reserve and appoint financial regulators who take a more positive stance toward digital assets.
After the launch of $TRUMP, the token’s market capitalization rose to over $15 billion (about €14.6 billion), though on Monday it dipped to below $12 billion (about €11.7 billion), coinciding with the release of $MELANIA, which in its first hours approached a market cap near $2 billion (about €1.95 billion), according to CoinMarket.