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The designers behind a virtual coin launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been charged in legal documents of planning a market manipulation plot.

Initial Launch and Value Spike

The $MELANIA cryptocurrency were made available for a minimal price each on January 19, the day before former President Trump was inaugurated.

Alongside the First Lady's token, Donald Trump released his $TRUMP coin a few hours before the presidential inauguration.

In a matter of hours, the price of the $MELANIA token surged to nearly $14 per coin.

Rapid Decline in Value

Yet, the price then collapsed with similar speed, and currently stands at only about 10 cents – below one percent of its peak price.

At the same time, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency hit a high of $45.47 and currently exchanges for $5.79.

Court Claims and Investors' Arguments

The investors assert that the token's architects planned the scheme knowing that the digital currency's value would plummet.

Mrs. Trump herself is not named in the court case. Claimants indicated they do not believe she was responsible, but accused the blockchain organizations of exploiting her and other familiar faces as a facade for their fraudulent schemes.

Trading Venue Role

According to recently submitted federal filings, plaintiffs accuse officials of the Meteora digital asset exchange, where $MELANIA was first exchanged, of establishing a operation that enabled them to discreetly acquire significant amounts of the cryptocurrency.

Their partners then quickly resold these cryptocurrencies, earning significant gains while triggering the value to crash, per records entered in Manhattan federal court.

Broader Context

The charges concerning the Melania token have been incorporated into legal proceedings concerning various other digital currencies, which began in spring.

The Trump family has allegedly secured over a billion dollars in pre-tax earnings from various blockchain-associated products and companies over the last year.