COLUMN: The MELANIA token has lost 99% of its value—and no one should be surprised

What It Means to Lose 99%

Imagine you invested $10,000 in the MELANIA token at its peak. Today, your portfolio is worth $100. Not $1,000. Not $500. One hundred dollars. The price of a meal for two at an average restaurant in Washington. That’s what your trust in the Trump name is worth, converted into blockchain.

And to get back to your initial investment, the token would have to increase in value by a factor of 100. One hundred times its current value. In a market where attention has long since shifted elsewhere. You might as well hope that an ice cube survives in the middle of the Sahara.

The Invisible Victims

No one ever talks about them. Crypto forums are full of anonymous stories. A father in Texas who put his Christmas savings into the token. A college student in Florida who took out a loan to invest. A retiree in Arizona who believed that financially supporting Trump meant buying his memecoin. These people will never appear in market reports. They are the collateral damage of a system that turns political loyalty into a disposable financial product.

What Melania Actually Said

Melania Trump’s statement deserves to be read carefully. She calls for Epstein’s survivors to be heard under oath before Congress. She asserts that she had no relationship with Epstein beyond formal social encounters. She positions herself as an ally of the victims.

The question isn’t whether this statement is sincere. The question is: why now? Why in April 2026, when the Epstein files have been circulating for years? Why at the very moment when new revelations threaten to tarnish the Trump family’s political circle?

The Suspicious Timing

In politics as in finance, timing is rarely accidental. When a public figure takes the initiative regarding a potential scandal, communications professionals call it a preemptive move. You position yourself on the side of the victims before anyone puts you on the side of the accused. And yet, the crypto market didn’t take the bait. The MELANIA token remained as inert as a tombstone.

This silence from the market may be the most honest response the financial world has ever given to politics.

The TRUMP coin, the MELANIA coin, and the rest

The MELANIA token doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of a Trump-crypto ecosystem that defies belief. The TRUMP token itself has followed a similar trajectory—initial euphoria, followed by a gradual collapse. The World Liberty Financial platform, linked to the Trump family, operates in regulatory gray areas that would make any competent regulator shudder.

And meanwhile, the president is signing executive orders favorable to the crypto industry. He is appointing pro-crypto officials to head regulatory agencies. He is hosting gala dinners with the major holders of his tokens. The conflict of interest is no longer even hidden. It has become the business model.

When Political Power Meets Financial Speculation

There was a time when a U.S. president could not sell financial products bearing his name while signing the laws that regulate those very same products. Those days are gone. The line between public service and personal enrichment has not merely been crossed—it has been erased. And the presidential memecoins are tangible proof of that erasure.

What makes the situation particularly troubling is that no one in Congress seems capable of taking action. Democrats are speaking out. Republicans are looking the other way. And financial regulators, decimated by partisan appointments, no longer have the means or the will to intervene.

Why Memecoins Continue to Exist

Memecoins represent the most volatile and destructive segment of the crypto industry. According to data from CoinGecko, more than 95% of memecoins lose all their value within twelve months of their launch. This is no secret. It’s a public statistic. And yet, new memecoins appear every day.

Why? Because the remaining 5% generate astronomical returns for those who get in at the right time—that is, before everyone else. A memecoin is a lottery disguised as an investment. And like all lotteries, it’s designed to enrich the organizer, not the participant.

The Deliberate Lack of Regulation

In the United States, if you sell a lottery ticket, you’re subject to dozens of federal and state regulations. If you sell a digital token that works exactly like a lottery but is called a “memecoin,” you’re subject to virtually nothing. This regulatory asymmetry isn’t an oversight. It’s a political choice.

And yet, the human consequences are identical. People lose money they can’t afford to lose. The only difference is that in a casino, you’re told that the house always wins. In the world of memecoins, you’re told that you’re a visionary investor.

Selective Coverage

When the MELANIA token was launched, the media covered the event with a morbid fascination. Headlines spoke of innovation, disruption, and the future of political finance. Fifteen months later, with the token having lost 99% of its value, the silence is almost total. No reports on the losers. No investigations into the flow of funds. No questions for the White House spokesperson.

The media cycle has a perverse structure: it amplifies the launch and ignores the collapse. It creates hype and abandons the victims. This isn’t journalism. It’s unintentional marketing.

The few voices sounding the alarm

Some crypto analysts, such as Molly White with her website Web3 Is Going Just Great, are methodically documenting the disasters. Senator Jon Ossoff has denounced presidential memecoins as a threat to democratic integrity. The organization Public Citizen has filed a formal complaint. But these voices remain marginal, drowned out by the noise of an ecosystem that generates too much money for too many powerful people.

Why Melania’s Denial Changes Nothing

Melania Trump’s denial regarding Epstein is interesting for what it reveals about the mechanics of contemporary denial. We no longer deny. We reposition ourselves. We go from “potential subject of an investigation” to “ally of the victims” in a single statement. It’s a remarkable piece of communication jiu-jitsu.

But the market, for its part, doesn’t play politics. The market looks at flows. Volumes. On-chain activity. And what the market sees is a token abandoned by its creators, with no significant liquidity, no technical development, and no active community. The Epstein denial could be the bravest statement in American history—the token wouldn’t budge a penny.

The disconnect between narrative and reality

There is something deeply revealing about this disconnect. On one side, a former first lady speaking about justice, victims, and the truth under oath. On the other, a financial product bearing her name that has ruined thousands of small investors, yet she has never uttered a word of regret toward them.

Epstein’s survivors deserve to be heard. Absolutely. Without reservation. But do the victims of the MELANIA token also deserve to be heard? Or are they less photogenic, less politically useful, less profitable for the media?

What This Says About American Democracy

When the President of the United States and his family launch speculative financial products while governing the country, something fundamental has broken down in the democratic contract. This isn’t a matter of left or right. It’s a matter of institutional principle.

And yet, the precedent has now been set. Will the next president be able to launch a memecoin? An NFT? An online betting platform bearing the presidential seal? If the answer is yes—and in the absence of any legislative action, the answer is yes—then the presidency has become a commercial franchise. And the Constitution, an investment prospectus.

International comparisons that should be cause for alarm

In most Western democracies, a leader who launched a speculative financial product during their term would face impeachment proceedings. In France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada—it would be unthinkable. Not because these countries are more virtuous, but because their legal frameworks explicitly prohibit this type of conflict of interest.

The United States, on the other hand, operates on a system of implicit honor—the idea that certain things simply aren’t done, even if no law formally prohibits them. That system has just been shattered.

The infrastructure that makes all of this possible

The MELANIA token was launched on Solana, a blockchain known for its low transaction fees and fast execution speed. This also makes it the platform of choice for memecoin launchers. Solana is not responsible for the content launched on its network—just as the Internet is not responsible for the websites hosted on its servers. But the ease with which one can create and promote a token on Solana raises ethical questions that the ecosystem refuses to address.

Creating a memecoin on Solana takes less than fifteen minutes and costs just a few dollars. Anyone can do it. It’s the democratization of financial fraud, disguised as technological innovation.

The Responsibility of Exchange Platforms

The platforms that listed the MELANIA token—and collected fees on every transaction—bear a responsibility that no one is holding them accountable for. They facilitated access to a product they knew was speculative. They profited from every buy and every sell. And when the price crashed, they simply continued to collect their fees on panic sales.

The True Call for Justice

Let’s be clear on one point. The survivors of abuse linked to Jeffrey Epstein absolutely deserve to have their testimonies heard under oath before Congress. This demand is legitimate, urgent, and necessary—regardless of who makes it. The years of institutional silence surrounding this case constitute a scandal within a scandal.

But using this cause as a reputational shield, while profiting from a financial product that has ruined thousands of small investors, is a level of cynicism that should be revolting. Epstein’s victims are not a public relations tool. And the victims of the MELANIA token are no less victims simply because they lost money rather than their dignity.

What Congress Should Really Be Investigating

If the U.S. Congress wants to deliver justice, it should begin with two simultaneous investigations. One into Epstein’s networks and the institutional complicity that protected them for decades. The other into presidential meme coins and the financial flows that have enriched the president’s inner circle at the expense of ordinary citizens. Both investigations strike at the same nerve: the impunity of the powerful.

The Typical Profile of a MELANIA Buyer

On-chain data reveals a troubling profile. The majority of MELANIA token buyers held modest portfolios—less than $5,000 in crypto assets. Many were first-time investors who entered the crypto space specifically because of the Trump name. They had no experience with the volatility of memecoins. No understanding of liquidity mechanisms. No idea what lay ahead.

And it is precisely this profile that celebrity memecoins target. Not sophisticated traders. Not hedge funds. Ordinary people, driven by loyalty and hope—two emotions that crypto marketing exploits with surgical precision.

The Moral Responsibility of Promoters

Melania Trump may not have broken any laws by launching her token. The SEC under the current administration has made it clear that it will not prosecute memecoins as securities. But the absence of a legal violation does not constitute a moral absolution. When you know that your name alone is enough to convince thousands of people to invest, and that the product you’re launching has a 95% statistical chance of crashing, the issue isn’t a legal one. It’s a human one.

The Normalization of the Worst

The most insidious danger of the MELANIA token isn’t financial. It’s cultural. By normalizing the idea that a political leader can monetize their image through speculative financial products, we’ve opened a Pandora’s box that won’t close. Will the next elections see candidates funding their campaigns with memecoins? Governors, senators, mayors—they all now have a model to follow.

And yet, the market itself is beginning to lose interest. Trading volumes for political memecoins have plummeted by 80% since January 2025. Attention has shifted. Speculators have moved on to other things. But the damage remains. The losses are real. Empty wallets don’t refill themselves.

Signs of Regulatory Hope

A few initiatives are emerging. The MEME Act (Market Ethics and Memecoin Enforcement) bill, proposed by a bipartisan coalition in the Senate, would aim to prohibit federal elected officials and their families from launching digital assets during and after their terms in office. The bill is still in committee. Its chances of passage under this administration are close to zero. But its very existence proves that the problem is recognized.

In Europe, the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation provides a framework that the United States refuses to adopt. There, memecoins are treated for what they are: high-risk financial products requiring explicit warnings and consumer protections.

A Name Doesn’t Determine Value

The key lesson from the MELANIA token is as old as finance itself. A famous name is not an economic fundamental. Political trust cannot be translated into financial value. And partisan enthusiasm, however sincere, does not shield against the laws of supply and demand.

Every generation must relearn this lesson. Tulip bulbs in the 17th century. Railroads in the 19th. Dot-coms in 2000. Subprime mortgages in 2008. Memecoins in 2025. The vehicle changes. The mechanics remain the same.

What the 99% Loss Really Tells Us

Behind every percentage point of this crash is a human being who placed their trust—not in blockchain technology, not in fundamental analysis, not in on-chain metrics—but in a name. And that name, belonging to a woman who today demands justice for Epstein’s victims, has never had a word for the victims of her own token.

This is perhaps the most revealing contradiction of our time: we can simultaneously demand justice for some while ignoring the suffering of others—as long as the latter have lost nothing but money.

A dead token that refuses to admit it

The MELANIA token is, by every measurable indicator, a dead asset. Daily trading volume is in free fall. The number of active holders is steadily declining. No technical updates. No roadmap. No developers working on the project. The official website still exists, like those “Closed” signs on stores that people forget to take down.

And yet, a few thousand people still hold these tokens. Out of hope. Out of denial. Or simply because selling now would mean officially acknowledging a loss they’re not ready to accept. In financial psychology, this is called the endowment effect—the tendency to hold onto a losing asset in the irrational hope of a rebound.

What the market says when words are no longer enough

The crypto market has delivered its verdict on the MELANIA token. And that verdict won’t change, no matter what political statement is made today. Because the market, in its arithmetic brutality, recognizes only one authority: reality. Not names. Not brands. Not denials. Just the stark reality of the numbers.

A 99% loss. That is the price of misplaced trust in a system designed to exploit that trust. And as long as this system exists without safeguards, there will be other MELANIAs. Other TRUMPs. Other famous names turned into financial traps for ordinary people.

The only question that remains is this: How many victims will it take before someone, somewhere, decides that enough is enough?

Signed, Jacques PJ Provost