Melania Trump launches her own cryptocurrency
Melania TrumpIncoming first lady Melania Trump has launched a cryptocurrency on the eve of her husband's inauguration as US president.
The announcement comes after President-elect Donald Trump launched the $Trump cryptocurrency. Both coins have risen but have seen volatile trade.
"The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $Melania now," she posted on the social platform X on Sunday.
Disclaimers on the websites of both the $Trump and $Melania coins said they were "not intended to be, or the subject of" an investment opportunity or a security.
According to the CoinMarketCap website, $Trump has a total market valuation of about $12bn (£9.8bn), while $Melania's stands at around $1.7bn.
Trump had previously called crypto a "scam" but during the 2024 election campaign became the first presidential candidate to accept digital assets as donations.
During the campaign, his family launched a cryptocurrency company called World Liberty Financial - which aims to lead "a financial revolution by dismantling the stranglehold of traditional financial institutions", and is also selling a crypto coin.
The new Trump coin was launched from Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital LLC, which is linked to previous sales of crypto collectable NFTs launched in 2022 that made millions of dollars but have since fallen dramatically in value for their owners.
According to CoinGecko, the NFTs once sold for more than $1,000 but have since dropped in value to around $300.
Crypto campaign
On the campaign trail, Trump also said he would create a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and appoint financial regulators that take a more positive stance towards digital assets.
That spurred expectations that he would strip back regulations on the crypto industry.
In the wake of Trump's victory, Bitcoin jumped to a record high of around $109,000 according to crypto trading platform Coinbase.
On Friday, the incoming artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto tsar David Sacks held a "Crypto Ball" in Washington, DC.
Other cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin - which has been promoted by high-profile Trump supporter Elon Musk - have also risen sharply this year.
Under President Joe Biden, regulators cited concerns about fraud and money laundering as they cracked down on crypto companies by suing exchanges.
The growth of Dogecoin has significantly increased the interest in so-called "meme coins" - cryptocurrencies typically linked to a viral internet trend or moment.
Melania's Meme coin has come from her own incorporated company MKT World LLC – a firm she has used since 2021 for various ventures including selling portraits of her as first lady.
Meme coins can be created and launched by anyone, and there are thousands in existence.
With their profile and social media presence, Trump coin and Melania coin have already entered the top 100 coins in terms of value, and Melania's coin is now worth more than AI entrepreneur Sam Altman's Worldcoin.