The cryptocurrency MELANIA, which operates on the Solana blockchain and is named after the US First Lady Melania Trump, is facing increased scrutiny due to significant token sales related to the project's team.
A blockchain researcher named EmberCN disclosed on May 3 that wallets associated with the project sold nearly 10 million MELANIA tokens within eight days, totaling around $4.6 million. This raised concerns about the project's sustainability and the intentions of the team.
EmberCN noted that the sales were conducted using a Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) strategy and unilateral liquidity provision, enabling the project to unload large positions without causing major price fluctuations.
This is not the first time such sales have occurred. In April, the same wallets exchanged 3 million tokens for approximately 9,009 SOL, or $1.2 million at the time, using a similar method of liquidation.
The ongoing selling of tokens has been continuous. Since mid-March, approximately 41.67 million MELANIA tokens have been quietly liquidated for about 170,000 SOL, equivalent to around $23 million.
Most of the proceeds from these sales seem to have been converted to USDC and withdrawn, indicating an effort by the project team to gradually exit their substantial token holdings.
The repeated and large-scale token sales from the project-associated wallets have sparked suspicions among investors, prompting questions about whether MELANIA was truly intended for long-term use or simply created to leverage the popularity of the US First Lady's name.
MELANIA was launched in January 2025 amidst significant media attention, driven by its branding and the timing of President Donald Trump's inauguration. However, the initial hype has waned due to a general market downturn that has significantly impacted meme coins.
Current data from BeInCrypto shows that the token is trading at about $0.38, marking a decline of over 6% in the past day and 31% in the last week. Notably, MELANIA has dropped by around 97% from its peak of $13.70 on January 20.
Prominent cryptocurrency platforms like TonTrader, dYdX, Arkham, BingX, and HTX are actively tracking the market trends.