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The developers responsible for a cryptocurrency introduced by US First Lady Melania Trump have been charged in federal papers of executing a fraudulent operation.

Initial Launch and Value Spike

The $MELANIA tokens were made available for under a dollar each on January 19, one day preceding former President Trump took office.

Alongside the $MELANIA coin, the former president launched his own digital currency just ahead of the inauguration ceremony.

Within hours, the market value of the $MELANIA coin surged to over $13 per coin.

Sudden Collapse in Price

However, the market price plummeted with similar speed, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – under one percent of its maximum worth.

Meanwhile, the $TRUMP token hit a high of $45.47 and presently sells for under six dollars.

Court Claims and Plaintiffs' Position

The investors allege that the currency's developers organized the maneuver knowing that the digital currency's value would crash.

The First Lady herself is not included in the court case. Claimants indicated they do not think she was culpable, but accused the crypto companies of exploiting her and other well-known personalities as a cover for their illegal activities.

Exchange Platform Role

As per fresh legal documents, investors accuse leaders of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where the First Lady's token was first exchanged, of creating a plan that allowed them to indirectly purchase large quantities of the cryptocurrency.

Associated individuals then promptly liquidated these digital currencies, securing large returns while leading to the value to crash, per papers submitted in New York federal court.

Broader Context

The claims regarding the First Lady's coin have been incorporated into judicial actions concerning multiple additional virtual tokens, which started in spring.

The Trump family has reportedly earned over one billion dollars in pre-tax earnings from several digital currency-linked ventures and firms over the last year.