Historic Solana Surge Driven by Launch of TRUMP and MELANIA Tokens — What You Need to Know

The launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens has ignited a frenzy in the cryptocurrency market. The price of Solana (SOL), on which these tokens are built, reached a new record, and trading volumes exceeded historic benchmarks. Below are the details and the market’s reaction.

The sudden appearance of TRUMP was unexpected. At first, Twitter users doubted its authenticity and speculated the associated account might have been hacked. Yet 15 minutes after launch, the project’s market cap already surpassed $300 million, with the token initially trading below $1. Within an hour, its price surged to just under $3, and the following day, it set a new ATH at $75.35.

On Polymarket, people bet that TRUMP had no real connection to Donald Trump. Doubts were dispelled after several statements: one from Donald Trump himself, one from his son Eric, and one on the project’s official website.

Project Structure

TRUMP’s creators have posted all key information on their website, where it’s also possible to buy the token directly with a bank card — via the Moonshot service, purchased by decentralized exchange Jupiter specifically for this campaign. The team has stressed that TRUMP is neither a security nor politically affiliated, presumably to protect the team from possible lawsuits.

According to the site, the total supply is 1 billion tokens, of which only 200 million TRUMP are in circulation. The remaining 800 million (80%) are locked for three years. Notably, these tokens belong to two companies — CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC — fully controlled by a revocable trust belonging to Donald Trump. Previously, CIC Digital LLC launched Trump’s official NFT collection.

Observers note that this large locked reserve allows for price management, and the three-year vesting period helps ensure that the token won’t crash from massive sell-offs. In addition, a large liquidity pool on Solana—continually replenished—supports demand. However, heavy-handed price management raises concerns: the project may draw regulatory scrutiny, given its direct link to Donald Trump. Many are also uneasy about the token’s lack of practical utility, although the team hints they intend to address that issue.

“Trump Effect” and Market Frenzy

This memecoin has soared tremendously, quickly joining the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Analysts believe part of the reason is an influx of novices who have never purchased crypto before. Many traders sold other altcoins to buy TRUMP, increasing price drops in some projects. Meanwhile, SOL, the main network for trading and launching memecoins, hit an all-time high of $294.33, prompting discussion about the potential launch of a SOL ETF later this year.

However, some analysts view this surge as evidence of another bull cycle phase. Search queries for “Buy crypto” have jumped, new users are entering the market, and buying tokens has become as simple as tapping on a smartphone. Others say the TRUMP launch is more of a short-lived media wave rather than a sign of a market top.

Skepticism and Insider Remarks

Well-known crypto analyst 1coinfirmation described the TRUMP launch as a “step in the right direction,” marking a new era distinct from the anti-crypto Biden administration. However, he noted that with 80% of tokens held by Trump, any price gains appear to benefit him personally—mirroring FTX’s approach, where a handful of insiders held most of the assets.

Some experts warn of potential legal repercussions. The founder of Coinage suggested that Donald Trump likely issued the token before his inauguration to avoid accusations of profiting from public office. By U.S. law, any president faces strict limits on personal finances and commercial interests.

Tax consultancy FinTAX warned about possible taxation issues:

“Profit from the sale or exchange of memecoins must be declared, with taxes paid. Such large personal gains by politicians may raise suspicions of corruption,” they said.

MELANIA Token

Following TRUMP’s success, Melania Trump announced her own token. Within 10 hours of launch, the asset jumped to $10.53, briefly hitting $13.37 at its peak. Its market cap stands at $2 billion at press time. The project’s official website states that:

• it is “not intended for investment,”
• 35% of tokens go to developers,
• 20% to treasury, another 20% to the community,
• 10% to future liquidity,
• and 15% supposedly went to a public sale.

Yet data from Bubblemaps indicates 90% of the tokens are held in a single wallet.

Additionally, the MELANIA launch put the Solana network under heavy stress, with popular services like Phantom and Moonshot suffering disruptions from surging demand. TRUMP was also affected: following Melania’s announcement, its price dropped 40%, briefly sliding from $72 down to $38.

Meanwhile, the asset has been listed on MEXC, BingX, Gate, and Bitget, adding to TRUMP holders’ uncertainty.

Huge Volumes and Fresh Records

The combined popularity of both tokens has impacted the broader Solana ecosystem. On-chain DEX trading volume surpassed $158 million in January, beating the previous 2021 record. SOL continues to break its own highs, while Google Trends reveals a spike in searches for “Buy Solana” and “Buy crypto.” At peak traffic, Phantom processed up to 8 million requests per minute, pushing Solana to its limits.

Conflict of Interest

X quickly responded to TRUMP’s success. Soon rumors spread of a possible “USA” token from the same team, which Eric Trump denied, clarifying that their family has no ties to such a coin.

A former Coinbase CTO suggested Donald Trump “distribute TRUMP tokens to voters” to avoid conflicts of interest. Meanwhile, Messari’s founder called for the ouster of the MELANIA development team, labeling the project “unprofessional” and harmful to Trump’s reputation.

Avoiding FOMO

Despite the buzz surrounding these new tokens, experts caution investors not to succumb to FOMO and to carefully assess risks. Many point out that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and TRUMP and MELANIA rely heavily on personal branding and media hype. While they may provide a short-term boost to the Solana blockchain’s activity, they could just as quickly experience mass sell-offs and wild price swings.

This post is for informational purposes only and is not an ad or investment advice. Please do your own research making any decisions.