The Melania Trump meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency, hit the market Sunday night about 6 p.m. on the eve of Trump's inauguration. The returning first lady announced the offering's arrival in a post on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter, saying “You can buy $MELANIA now.”
After initially launching at about $7, the $MELANIA coin was valued at about $9 on Monday morning with a market cap of $1.65 billion, according to CoinMarketCap tracking site. That's not quite as successful of a launch as the $TRUMP coin, which has risen to about $50 and has a market cap of about $10 billion.
Some likely got a windfall when they got in early on $TRUMP coin at 18 cents. But investors should be wary of the volatility of cryptocurrencies.
"As has been the case with other startup crypto currencies, one might anticipate there to be some considerable risk," David Reibstein, professor of marketing at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY, speaking about the launch of the $TRUMP coin.
"That is not to say there could easily be an upside," Reibstein said. "Note the volatility of Trump Media which quickly rose to close to $100 and then shortly thereafter fell to under $13 and now is back up to near $40. It is an investment for the brave."
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How much is the new Melania Trump meme coin?
As of 8 a.m. Monday, the Melania coin was trading at about $9, according to CoinMarketCap. When trading started Sunday night, the coin's value was $7.41, the site said.
The Melania meme coin, like the Trump coin, is issued on the Solana blockchain platform. About 450,000 buyers currently hold the Melania coin, according to the SolScan tracker, which tracks the Solana-related crypto tokens.
The debut of the Melania coin on Sunday led to a "sharp dip in the price of" the Trump coin "prompting concerns from crypto industry executives who worry that meme coins could harm the market," reported Forbes' Siladitya Ray.
The Trump launches are “now clearly a blight that we will have to work to put behind us as builders,” Rob Hadick, a general partner at crypto-focused venture-capital company Dragonfly Capital told Bloomberg.
What is a meme coin?
Meme coins are a type of cryptocurrency usually inspired by internet memes, often a pop culture image or trend. One of the most well-known memes starred the Japanese dog Kabosu that became a popular meme online in the early 2010s.
In 2013, the dog's face became the symbol of Dogecoin, which remains one of the most invested-in crypto coins after emerging as a "meme stock" during the COVID-19 pandemic retail trading boom.
The Trump coin is currently the 18th most valuable crypto token on the CoinMarketCap site. Dogecoin is at No. 7 and the Melania coin is at No. 62.
According to the Melania Trump meme coin website, 15% of the tokens will be distributed to the public. Overall, 35% of the allotment is allocated to the project's "team." The tokens are issued by MKT World, a West Palm Beach, Florida company incorporated by Melania Trump in 2021, Forbes reported.
After 30 days, 10% of those tokens allocated to the project's "team" can be unlocked. The entirety of the tokens will be released over the next 13 months.
With a fully diluted valuation of about $5 billion, the team's allocation could be worth $1.5 billion.
Should I buy the Melania Trump coin or Trump coin?
You can acquire the Melania meme coin on the website with a debit card or using cryptocurrency.
But if you are looking at this as an investment opportunity, even the Melania coin website notes: "Melania Memes are intended for collecting and entertainment purposes only. They are not financial instruments or investments. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose."
And there could be a growing wave of crypto meme coins – there's still many Trump family members who could launch them.
Anthony Scaramucci, founder of alternate asset investment firm Skybridge and a former White House director of communications, posted on X on Saturday, "The Trump meme coin stuff is bad for the industry." Then on Sunday, he noted that the "launch of the Melania coin is causing Trump coin to crash. ... Which one of the kids coins will perform best?"
About crypto coins, Reibstein said, "It will be interesting to see how regulators the soon-to-be President Trump appoints handles this."
