In a surprising twist, U.S. President Donald Trump and his entourage appear to have amassed paper profits worth billions through the launch of Official Trump ($TRUMP) and Melania Meme ($MELANIA) tokens on the Solana blockchain.
These tokens, which went live in the past three days, have seen remarkable growth, but questions about their liquidity and market sustainability remain.
$TRUMP Price Actions
TRUMP, currently trading at $40, boasts a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, making it the 24th largest cryptocurrency globally.
It sits just below major assets like Polkadot (DOT) and Litecoin (LTC) on the market cap rankings. MELANIA, on the other hand, has reached a $945 million valuation, placing it in the 121st position.
A Closer Look at the Trump Team’s Holdings
On-chain data reveals staggering figures linked to these meme coins. The TRUMP treasury wallet holds $35.5 billion worth of the token, in addition to $17.5 billion across other Trump-themed memecoins, including Eric Trump and Kai Trump tokens.
Another wallet tied to the Official Trump launch is reported to hold $622 million in TRUMP and $147 billion in a token named after Vice President J.D. Vance.
The MELANIA tokens are held in a slightly different arrangement. Four wallets collectively own roughly 77% of the token’s supply, valued at $4.8 billion.
Two of these wallets, labelled as Melania Treasury and Melania Liquidity on Solscan, also hold significant portions of the VANCE token, which has a market cap rivalling some of the largest cryptocurrencies.
When combining holdings of TRUMP, MELANIA, VANCE, and related tokens, the total on-chain wealth attributed to the Trump team may approach $2.3 trillion, CoinDesk reported. However, these figures are largely theoretical, as they reflect market cap rather than actual liquidity.
Liquidity Challenges and Vesting Schedules
The massive valuations are not without caveats. On-chain data shows that the VANCE token has less than $2,000 in liquidity across two Solana pools. This lack of liquidity makes it nearly impossible to realize the paper wealth without triggering a market collapse.
The Trump and Melania Meme tokens are also subject to vesting schedules, preventing their immediate liquidation. While TRUMP holders must wait three months before selling small portions of their holdings, MELANIA tokens are set to begin unlocking in less than 30 days. These constraints aim to stabilize prices but limit the ability to take profits in the short term.
How Market Cap Can Be Misleading
The inflated valuations highlight a key flaw in cryptocurrency markets: market capitalization can be manipulated. For instance, issuing a trillion tokens and trading a small fraction at $1 can create a $1 trillion market cap with minimal actual investment. This discrepancy raises concerns about the sustainability and transparency of such projects.
The rapid rise of the Trump and Melania Meme tokens underscores the speculative nature of meme coins. While the Trump team’s holdings are impressive on paper, the lack of liquidity and the potential for price collapse present significant risks.
As the market watches these tokens closely, their performance could serve as a lesson in distinguishing between paper wealth and actual value. Investors should tread carefully, as the hype surrounding these projects may not translate into long-term profitability.
Also Read: Trump Token Whale Faces $2.47M Loss on $9.5M $TRUMP Purchase, Sits on $11M $MELANIA Tokens