Melania memecoin team sells $15 million tokens in suspected slow rug pull

Blockchain analyst EmberCN has claimed the team behind First Lady’s MELANIA memecoin has been dumping the token. In a post on X, the analyst said the team sold 23.45 million MELANIA worth 110,000 SOL ($14.75 million) in the past month.

According to the analysis of blockchain transactions, the people behind the project have been selling for weeks using several liquidity and community addresses. While some sales have been to exchanges, the team has also sold tokens by unilaterally adding and removing liquidity to Meteora’s MELANIA/SOL liquidity pool.

In the latest sale on April 19, the team sold 2.95 million tokens for 9,009 SOL worth $1.2 million. With the latest sell-off, the team has reportedly dumped 7.643 million MELANIA for SOL in the last three days.

MELANIA heading to zero in free fall as TRUMP struggles

With the team dumping MELANIA, the token value has also been declining. According to CoinMarketCap, it peaked at $13.73 on January 20  and has been in decline since then, with a 23% fall in the past week and a 96% drop in 90 days.

The token is now down to $0.3834 and has fallen 5% in the past 24 hours despite general market stability. Most of the other major memecoins, including SHIB, PEPE, BONK, and Fartcoin, have actually performed better within the category, seeing an average increase of 2% in the price.

However, not all memecoins are performing well. Another PolitiFi memecoin that has been struggling is the TRUMP official memecoin. The token, which peaked at $75.35, is now down to $8.14 after three months.

Although TRUMP has seen some resurgence in value, the recent unlocking of 40 million tokens worth over $300 million raises further concerns about whether its price will hold. Generally, token unlocks are bearish as they increase the circulating supply and create selling pressure for the token.

With the unlock going to the team, the team’s decision will likely determine the price direction. Any sell-off similar to what MELANIA is experiencing could cause its price to fall further.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now