Donald And Melania Trump Memecoins Crash, Erode Billions In Investors' Wealth

The official meme coins of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tanked on Monday amid no mention of cryptocurrencies in the inaugural presidential address.

What happened: The Official Trump (TRUMP) token sank over 30%, eroding nearly $6 billion worth of investors' wealth in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. The coin's trading volume fell 33% in the 24 hours.

The Official Melania (MELANIA) coin witnessed a steeper fall, plummeting over 54% in the last 24 hours. The token has crashed over 72% since its all-time high of $13.64 recorded a day earlier. 

The two Solana SOL/USD–based meme coins created a flutter over the weekend, running up to valuations that established firms took years to build.

At one point, the combined fully diluted valuation of the two cryptocurrencies, at about $58.34 billion, exceeded that of Occidental Petroleum.

However, due to the slump, the combined valuation, at nearly $36.98 billion, dipped below the oil producer, reaffirming the unpredictable nature of meme coins.

See Also: Trump Names Uyeda Acting SEC Chair, Regulators Get Ready For Crypto Makeover

Why It Matters: Disclosures revealed that entities associated with President Trump and Melania have sizable ownership in their respective meme coins.  

While Trump-affiliated companies controlled 80% of the TRUMP coin, about 35% of the total supply of MELANIA was reserved for the First Lady's team

The slump comes as Trump's inaugural address made no mention of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin BTC/USD, despite the high expectations leading up to the swearing-in. 

The snub had a ripple effect on the broader market, as major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum ETH/USD fell from the pre-inauguration highs.

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