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The architects responsible for a cryptocurrency launched by US First Lady Melania Trump have been charged in legal documents of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme.

Initial Launch and Value Spike

The $MELANIA coins were released for just a few cents each on January 19th, the day before Donald Trump was inaugurated.

Alongside the $MELANIA coin, Donald Trump released his $TRUMP coin just ahead of the inauguration ceremony.

Shortly after launch, the price of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency soared to nearly $14 per unit.

Rapid Decline in Price

Nevertheless, the value subsequently crashed just as rapidly, and currently stands at less than 15 cents – under one percent of its highest value.

At the same time, the $TRUMP token achieved a maximum of over forty-five dollars and now trades for approximately five seventy-nine.

Court Claims and Plaintiffs' Position

The claimants claim that the coin's creators planned the scheme aware that the digital currency's value would decline sharply.

Melania Trump herself is not mentioned in the lawsuit. Claimants stated they do not think she was responsible, but accused the digital currency firms of exploiting her and other prominent figures as a facade for their illegal activities.

Trading Venue Involvement

As per fresh legal documents, claimants allege officials of the Meteora trading platform, where $MELANIA was initially traded, of creating a scheme that allowed them to secretly buy significant amounts of the digital token.

Associated individuals then promptly liquidated these cryptocurrencies, securing large returns while leading to the market to collapse, according to papers submitted in New York federal court.

Broader Context

The charges concerning the First Lady's coin have been added to court cases regarding various other digital currencies, which started in spring.

Trump-associated entities has according to reports earned over $1 billion in pre-tax earnings from various blockchain-associated enterprises and organizations over the last year.