MELANIA memecoin insiders reportedly make over $150 million including pre-sale trades

By: cryptosheadlines|2025/05/06 17:00:08
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Airdrop Is Live CaryptosHeadlines Media Has Launched Its Native Token CHT. Airdrop Is Live For Everyone, Claim Instant 5000 CHT Tokens Worth Of $50 USDT. Join the Airdrop at the official website, CryptosHeadlinesToken.com According to Financial Times analysis, a small cohort of traders secured nearly $100 million in profits from Melania Trump’s MELANIA token within minutes of its market debut.Insider trading allegationsIts on-chain analysis suggests that two dozen digital wallets purchased $2.6 million worth of tokens less than three minutes before Trump’s Jan. 19 post on Truth Social announced the coin’s launch.The subsequent price surge enabled rapid liquidation, with 81% of the sales executed within 12 hours.The MELANIA token’s release followed President Donald Trump’s TRUMP coin, launched two days earlier without similar pre-announcement activity. While TRUMP’s distribution began seconds after its official disclosure, the early activity in MELANIA’s case highlights the potential for exploitation during memecoin launches.These tokens, devoid of utility beyond dinner with the president, operate as speculative instruments and are now exempt from securities regulations. Per the SEC’s current view, such trades fall outside federal insider-trading rules.The wallets involved in the pre-launch accumulation of MELANIA have drawn attention for their possible links to Hayden Davis, a Texas-based crypto entrepreneur.Davis, previously associated with the controversial LIBRA token tied to Argentina’s President Javier Milei, denied profiting from the MELANIA release, stating in an interview with independent journalist Stephen Findeisen (Coffeezilla), “There was no money made from the Melania team. Zero.”However, blockchain analysis by FT using Bubblemaps traced early purchases to accounts connected to ventures linked with Davis.Organizers behind MELANIA, operating through Delaware-based MKT World LLC, have reportedly withdrawn $64.7 million in primary sales and fees, separate from the $99.6 million amassed by early traders.MKT World, previously used by Melania Trump for various ventures since 2021, has yet to clarify its precise role or profit-sharing structure. The First Lady has not commented publicly on the token’s market activity or governance.Melania Trump and cryptoVolatility around MELANIA has been punctuated by prior controversies and trading frenzies linked to Trump-family-branded tokens.In the first 24 hours after futures trading launched, perpetual trading across TRUMP and MELANIA exceeded $50 billion, with MELANIA-USDT open interest spiking 56% in just 90 minutes. Solana’s network struggled under the load, recording 10 million transactions and $1.25 billion in volume, while services such as Phantom and Coinbase faced throttling due to congestion.Weeks later, developer-linked wallets were traced selling over 31 million MELANIA through unilateral liquidity provisioning, driving a steep drop from a peak of $13 to $0.38 before a modest recovery.Further, prior ventures involving Melania Trump’s digital initiatives had faced scrutiny, including allegations of wash trading tied to her “Head of State” NFT in 2022 and an NFT-based philanthropy pitch announced in 2024 targeting foster care programs.The rapid and lucrative trading around MELANIA further reflects the volatility of politically connected tokens.The Financial Times reported that similar wallet patterns appeared in the LIBRA scandal, suggesting a recurring strategy of leveraging high-profile figures for crypto speculation.Ethical concerns have also emerged, with former CFTC chair Tim Massad calling the involvement of presidential families in commercial tokens “plainly wrong” due to potential conflicts of interest.The price of MELANIA stabilized at approximately $0.32 as of May 5, placing the 800 million tokens retained by organizers at a notional valuation near $260 million.The token’s unlock schedule began on Feb. 19, releasing 3% of the supply, with monthly distributions of 2.25% planned thereafter.Despite regulatory gaps and anonymity on-chain, the episode illustrates the growing complexity surrounding political branding in digital assets and the challenges facing retail participants in rapidly evolving crypto markets.Mentioned in this articleSource link

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WEEX P2P update: Country/region restrictions for ad posting

To improve ad security and matching accuracy, WEEX P2P now allows advertisers to restrict who can trade with their ads based on country or region. Advertisers can select preferred counterparty locations for a safer, smoother trading experience.

 

I. Overview

When publishing P2P ads, advertisers can now set the following:

Allow only counterparties from selected countries or regions to trade with your ads.

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Target specific user groups more precisely.Reduce cross-region trading risks.Improve order matching quality.

 

II. Applicable scenarios

The following are some common scenarios:

Restrict payment methods: Limit orders to users in your country using supported local banks or wallets.Risk control: Avoid trading with users from high-risk regions.Operational strategy: Tailor ads to specific markets.

 

III. How to get started

On the ad posting page, find "Trading requirements":

Select "Trade with users from selected countries or regions only".Then select the countries or regions to add to the allowlist.Use the search box to quickly find a country or region.Once your settings are complete, submit the ad to apply the restrictions.

 

When an advertiser enables the "Country/Region Restriction" feature, users who do not meet the criteria will be blocked when placing an order and will see the following prompt:

If you encounter this issue when placing an order as a regular user, try the following solutions.

Choose another ad: Select ads that do not restrict your country/region, or ads that allow users from your location.Show local ads only: Prioritize ads available in the same country as your identity verification.

 

IV. Benefits

Compared with ads without country/region restrictions, this feature provides the following improvements.

Aspect

Improvement

Trading security

Reduces abnormal orders and fraud risk

Conversion efficiency

Matches ads with more relevant users

Order completion rate

Reduces failures caused by incompatible payment methods

V. FAQ

Q1: Why are some users not able to place orders on my ad?
A1: Their country or region may not be included in your allowlist.

 

Q2: Can I select multiple countries or regions when setting the restriction?
A2: Yes, multiple selections are supported.

 

Q3: Can I edit my published ads?
A3: Yes. You can edit your ad in the "My Ads" list. Changes will take effect immediately after saving.

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