The Financial Times has uncovered how insiders made $99.6 million on the MELANIA memecoin. According to the report, the insiders bought the token a few minutes before its official launch and cashed out big on the trade.
The report identified 24 addresses that bought 16.77 million of the Melania Trump-affiliated tokens for $2.6 million within two and a half minutes before she posted it on her Truth Social account. Melania shared details of the token late on January 19, causing a trading frenzy in the crypto market as MELANIA’s price rose significantly.
Interestingly, most of the addresses sold off the token quickly after the announcement, capitalizing on the momentum to earn massive profits. The Financial Times report noted that 81% of the sell-offs happened within 12 hours of the announcement.
In one case, an address spent $681,000 on the memecoin just 64 seconds before the announcement. By the end of the 12 hours after the launch, the address had made $39 million in profits from selling most of the tokens they bought. The same address made an extra $4.4 million by selling the rest of its holdings within three days.
The report raised questions about insider trading and the possibility of a crime. However, recent guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says memecoins are collectibles, not securities, so rules on insider trading and disclosures for promoters may not apply.
MELANIA team still dumping the memecoin
Meanwhile, the report only adds to the existing controversies around the MELANIA memecoin. The token, which is currently trading at $0.3184, has been on a steady decline due to massive sell-offs by the team for more than one month.
Since March 16, the MELANIA team has transferred more than 41.675 million MELANIA tokens from community and liquidity addresses, selling them off on exchanges and adding unilateral liquidity. Through the sell-offs, they have made 170,000 SOL worth $23.063 million and converted most of the SOL to USDC or withdrawn the funds.
Despite the consistent sell-offs that many in the crypto community have spotlighted, there has been no official communication from the project or anyone affiliated. MKT World LLC, a Delaware-based company listed as responsible for the project’s marketing on its official website, is also quiet about its role.
While the token continues to plummet, falling 44% in the last 30 days and trading at 96% below its peak, insiders and the team behind the project are still making money. So far, the team has made more than $64.7 million in profits from fees and sales.
Trump family memecoins raise ethical concerns
Meanwhile, the memecoin affiliated with the President, TRUMP, does not have the same insider trading problem as MELANIA, likely because a different team launched it. According to the report, there was no pre-announced purchase for TRUMP, and the first address bought it 42 seconds after its announcement on Truth Social.
Still, ethical concerns about how the US president’s family has profited from memecoins at the expense of others remain a major topic in the crypto and political community. Financial Times reported that entities behind TRUMP have made at least $350 million in fees and primary sales since its launch.
At the same time, TRUMP is down 85.7% from its peak price and currently trades at $10.59. Interestingly, the token had increased in value recently after announcing an exclusive dinner with the President for the top 220 holders.
However, it has lost most of its gains from that announcement, leaving more people with losses. One whale who had sold the token before the dinner announcement and missed out on a potential $3.8 million bought the token back a few days ago. However, he has sold off the tokens again, taking a $900,000 loss.
