The MELANIA (MELANIA) token is once again under scrutiny after on-chain data revealed a $1 million liquidity pull by project team, sparking renewed fears of insider manipulation and an impending price collapse.
According to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, the MELANIA team recently withdrew $1 million worth of MELANIA tokens from Meteora liquidity pools and transferred them to a new, unidentified wallet.
This activity is raising eyebrows all over the crypto community because it so closely resembles past moves that have been precursors to large-scale sell-offs. The Melania crew has, in the past, used somewhat similar wallet transaction patterns (offloading the tokens in dollar-cost-averaged chunks) to execute what appears to be a large-scale move off exchange that’s then followed by another large-scale dump — this time using the proceeds to buy another token and then offload that to another exchange.
This is not a coincidence. Blockchain records show that on April 26, the MELANIA team sold about $630,000 worth of tokens, and just two days later, on April 28, they sold another $930,000. Together, these two events account for more than $1.5 million in sales within a 72-hour window, prompting some analysts to accuse the team of doing coordinated dumps.
MELANIA TEAM MOVING $1M MELANIA
The MELANIA Team just removed $1M of MELANIA from Meteora liquidity pools and sent it on to a new wallet.
Previously, when they have done this, they have sold MELANIA via Jupiter DCA, then deposited the SOL to MEXC. pic.twitter.com/J0gNEukOga
— Arkham (@arkham) April 29, 2025
Fears of a Repeat of the LIBRA Crash
The wallet’s troubling history is adding fuel to the fire. Investigators have uncovered that the wallet responsible for launching MELANIA is the same one that previously launched the controversial LIBRA token. That project famously exploded shortly after launch, with the token price collapsing due to aggressive insider selling and liquidity drains. Many investors were left holding the bag.
The connections between the two tokens—MELANIA and LIBRA—suggest a potential pattern of exploitation. If the same people are behind both launches, it raises the question of whether MELANIA will be manipulated to follow the same path as LIBRA. The activity in the wallets for MELANIA, along with some large sales, has raised concerns that insiders might be offloading their MELANIA positions at inflated prices before completely exiting the project. If that turns out to be the case, then retail investors left holding the token will likely be at a loss.
Market actors and social media commentators in the crypto sphere have started expressing their concerns rather vocally. Some have urged crypto exchanges to take a look at the funds flowing between the wallets of the Melania team and trading platforms, like MEXC, that have issued public trading statements. Others have called upon the community of crypto advocates to exercise even more diligence than usual and factor in the dubiousness of developer claims and the lack of politically unambiguous virtue before buying purportedly virtuous crypto assets.
Gaining traction earlier this year in a flurry of interest in meme coins and speculative trading, the Melania token is now largely seen as no better than a promotion of a politically-themed, overly risk-laden digital asset. Like its promotional platform, the token has a lot of questions in the way of proving it can deliver anything of value to the image of former First Lady Melania Trump. With the unpeeling of on-chain data, even the initial excitement that surrounded the Melania token is now largely seen as no better than a mirage.
It isn’t uncommon for token creators to manage liquidity or to rebalance wallets. Yet the repeated pattern of stealthy removal of tokens coupled with large-scale selling of tokens suggests that, yes, indeed, intent may go beyond project management and into the territory of something less savory. Marketplace trust hinges on transparency (or not). Right now, trust in the Melania token is in question.
Investors On High Alert
A recent $1 million movement out of liquidity pools could be interpreted as a warning. Investors, especially those with memories of the sudden LIBRA demise, must be on high alert. If history is any guide, the Melania token could next be crossed off a growing list of short-lived meme coins manipulated by insiders.
At this point, the community keeps a close eye on how the story told by blockchain data continues to unfold. Whether MELANIA can survive and thrive apart from the fate of LIBRA remains an open question; what is certain, however, is that the faith in the project is already starting to wane.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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