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The designers responsible for a cryptocurrency launched by US First Lady Melania Trump are now alleged in legal documents of executing a pump-and-dump scheme.

Initial Launch and Value Spike

The $MELANIA cryptocurrency were released for under a dollar each on the 19th of January, just prior to Donald Trump was inaugurated.

Together with the $MELANIA coin, Trump himself launched his personal token a few hours before the swearing-in event.

Within hours, the market value of the $MELANIA coin soared to nearly $14 per token.

Sudden Collapse in Price

Nevertheless, the value plummeted with similar speed, and is now less than 15 cents – less than a fraction of its maximum worth.

At the same time, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency hit a high of nearly forty-six dollars and currently exchanges for approximately five seventy-nine.

Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments

The claimants claim that the coin's creators organized the maneuver conscious that the token's worth would plummet.

The First Lady personally is not included in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs stated they do not think she was at fault, but charged the crypto companies of using her and other familiar faces as a facade for their fraudulent schemes.

Trading Venue Role

As per fresh federal filings, investors charge leaders of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where the First Lady's token was initially traded, of setting up a operation that enabled them to secretly buy large quantities of the virtual coin.

Their accomplices then promptly liquidated these virtual tokens, earning significant gains while triggering the value to crash, per documents filed in New York federal court.

Broader Context

The charges about the Melania token have been included in judicial actions concerning various other digital currencies, which began in spring.

The Trump organization has allegedly generated over a billion dollars in pre-tax profits from several blockchain-associated products and companies over the last year.