Solana’s first lady meme coin falls hard—down 96% as Melania-linked project becomes case study in crypto red flags

What began as a hyped launch in connection with first lady Melania Trump has rapidly become a cautionary tale for investors of meme coins. The Solana-based token, Official Melania Meme, backed by Melania herself, has declined by 96% from its all-time high, as per a From the StartThe token, which is similar to the OFFICIAL TRUMP coin released by US president Donald Trump, was problematic from the beginning, according to . There were questions about its purpose, tokenomics, and ethics. Months on, many of those questions seem to have been warranted, as per the , the project is coming under even more criticism after blockchain analysis showed that insiders are potentially quietly selling out at the expense of regular holders, according to .Millions drained from community fundsLast Monday, blockchain analytics company Bubblemaps found that the MELANIA token was experiencing what they described as huge sell-offs, as the project's team siphoned millions from the community fund, reported . As Bubblemaps explained, members of the team had moved 50 million tokens, about $30 million from the community fund, which is generally set aside for items such as ecosystem development and community incentivization programs, as per the to , roughly $3 million worth of tokens found their way to exchanges, with at least $500,000 already having been dumped. Bubblemaps had also reported a $2 million withdrawal from MELANIA liquidity pools, just a week and a half ago, as per the report. About $1 million of that found its way onto exchanges, as per . The client behind the action was Hayden Davis, a name increasingly well-known in crypto, and the same individual responsible for Argentina's LIBRA token, according to the report. The recent MELANIA sales are concerning, as Bubblemaps pointed out that wallets tied to the team control 92% of the token supply, reported . It also warned that “The damage isn’t done yet,” as quoted in the How much has the MELANIA coin dropped in value?MELANIA coin has fallen about 96% from its all-time high. What’s the issue with the MELANIA community fund?According to Bubblemaps, the team behind the coin moved around 50 million tokens, worth about $30 million, from the community fund into personal wallets or exchanges.