Melania Trump Memecoin Surges 10% After Promotion Despite 98% Value Drop, $30M Sales Controversy

Melania Trump recently promoted her Solana-based memecoin, MELANIA, by posting an AI-generated video on social media, which briefly boosted the token's price by around 10%. Despite this surge, the token remains approximately 98-99% below its January 2025 all-time high and continues to face significant scrutiny due to unexplained sales of millions of dollars worth of community tokens by the project team. Blockchain analytics firms, including Bubblemaps and Lookonchain, highlighted that the team sold over $30 million in community tokens without explanation and used a dollar-cost averaging strategy to quietly offload holdings, raising concerns about transparency and investor trust. The promotion came after a 10-month hiatus, and neither Melania Trump nor her offices have addressed these controversies publicly. The MELANIA token, launched shortly after President Donald Trump's TRUMP token, exemplifies the volatility and risks associated with celebrity-linked memecoins, especially amid ongoing community backlash over the project's financial management. Market analysts view the sharp price decline as part of a broader pattern in the 2025 memecoin cycle, where initial hype is followed by crashes due to insider sell-offs.