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The designers responsible for a virtual coin launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been accused in federal papers of planning a market manipulation plot.

Coin Release and Value Spike

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

Alongside the $MELANIA coin, Donald Trump launched his $TRUMP coin shortly prior to the presidential inauguration.

In a matter of hours, the price of the $MELANIA token skyrocketed to over $13 per coin.

Sudden Collapse in Price

Yet, the price plummeted almost as quickly, and currently stands at only about 10 cents – under one percent of its highest value.

In parallel, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency achieved a maximum of over forty-five dollars and now trades for $5.79.

Legal Allegations and Plaintiffs' Position

The claimants assert that the coin's creators organized the operation knowing that the digital currency's value would plummet.

Mrs. Trump herself is not mentioned in the lawsuit. Claimants clarified they do not consider she was culpable, but charged the blockchain organizations of using her and other well-known personalities as window dressing for their criminal operations.

Exchange Platform Role

In newly filed court papers, plaintiffs accuse officials of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where $MELANIA was first exchanged, of creating a scheme that enabled them to secretly buy large quantities of the digital token.

Their partners then quickly resold these cryptocurrencies, pocketing substantial profits while causing the market to collapse, per records entered in New York federal court.

Wider Proceedings

The allegations about $MELANIA have been added to legal proceedings concerning multiple additional cryptocurrencies, which commenced in spring.

The Trump organization has according to reports secured over one billion dollars in pre-tax gains from various digital currency-linked ventures and firms over the past 12 months.