First lady Melania Trump launches her own cryptocurrency

By: Shawn
Melania Trump, the incoming first lady, has launched a cryptocurrency on the eve of her husband's inauguration as US president.

The news comes one day after President-elect Donald Trump established the $Trump cryptocurrency. Both cryptocurrencies have gained, although the trade has been unpredictable.

President 'Donald Trump' and wife and first lady 'Melania Trump.'
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"The Official Melania Meme is now live! "You can buy $MELANIA now," she wrote on the social media platform X on Sunday.

The "Official Melania Meme" website describes it as a crypto asset generated and monitored on the Solana blockchain.

Both the $Trump and $Melania coins' websites had disclaimers saying that they were "not intended to be, or the subject of" an investment opportunity or security.

According to the CoinMarketCap website, $Trump has a total market capitalization of over $12 billion (£9.8 billion), while $Melania's is roughly $1.7 billion.

Trump had previously described cryptocurrency as a "scam," but during the 2024 election campaign, he became the first presidential candidate to take digital assets as donations.

On the campaign trail, Trump also said that he would establish a strategic bitcoin stockpile and pick bank regulators who are more friendly towards digital assets.

That raised anticipation that he will reduce rules on the cryptocurrency business.

Following Trump's triumph, bitcoin reached a new high and is now trading over $140,000, according to crypto trading platform Coinbase.

On Friday, David Sacks, the incoming artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency tsar, hosted a "Crypto Ball" in Washington, DC.

Other cryptocurrencies, such as dogecoin, which has been supported by prominent Trump supporter Elon Musk, have also seen significant gains this year.

Under President Joe Biden, officials used fears about fraud and money laundering to push down on cryptocurrency startups by suing exchanges.

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