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The developers responsible for a cryptocurrency launched by US First Lady Melania Trump are now accused in court filings of executing a pump-and-dump scheme.

Coin Release and Value Spike

The $MELANIA cryptocurrency were issued for a minimal price each on January 19th, one day preceding former President Trump was inaugurated.

Together with the Melania cryptocurrency, the former president introduced his own digital currency shortly prior to the presidential inauguration.

Shortly after launch, the value of the $MELANIA token skyrocketed to over $13 per unit.

Sudden Collapse in Price

Yet, the price plummeted just as rapidly, and is now less than 15 cents – below a fraction of its maximum worth.

In parallel, the $TRUMP token achieved a maximum of $45.47 and presently sells for approximately five seventy-nine.

Court Claims and Investors' Arguments

The investors assert that the token's architects executed the operation aware that the cryptocurrency's price would plummet.

The First Lady herself is not mentioned in the lawsuit. Claimants stated they do not consider she was responsible, but accused the digital currency firms of leveraging her and other familiar faces as window dressing for their criminal operations.

Exchange Platform Role

As per fresh court papers, claimants allege leaders of the Meteora trading platform, where Melania's coin was initially traded, of setting up a plan that allowed them to secretly buy significant amounts of the digital token.

Associated individuals then promptly liquidated these digital currencies, earning significant gains while leading to the market to collapse, per records entered in Manhattan federal court.

Broader Context

The allegations concerning the First Lady's coin have been incorporated into legal proceedings involving several other cryptocurrencies, which started in spring.

The Trump family has allegedly generated over $1 billion in pre-tax profits from several blockchain-associated products and companies over the last year.