It’s the classic crypto-scam pattern: targeting inexperienced users to attract capital.
The hype surrounding Donald and Melania Trump’s official memecoins, launched just ahead of the presidential inauguration, brought hundreds of thousands of new users to the Solana blockchain. However, according to Chainalysis data, 50% of those who bought $TRUMP and $MELANIA had never invested in tokens on Solana before, and 46.5% created their wallets on the same day of purchase.
New users, same risks
Chainalysis data shows Trump’s memecoin attracted a wave of retail investors: 80% of wallets hold less than $1,000 worth of tokens, and 77% either earned less than $100 or are operating at a loss.
However, the real winners in this gamble are the whales: around 50 wallets control 94% of the tokens’ total value, each profiting over $10 million. Some wallets even hold more than $100 million.
Rug pull-style tokenomics
80% of the tokens are controlled by wallets associated with Creators & CIC Digital LLC—entities tied to Trump’s previous launches of Trump-branded NFTs, sneakers, and mugs—and Fight Fight Fight LLC. The initial unlocks are scheduled for three months from now. Four wallets received most of the tokens after the initial minting. Currently, 20%—or 200 million—of the total $TRUMP supply (1 billion tokens) is in circulation. Half of this supply was used to provide liquidity on exchanges, while the other half was offered to the public.
For $MELANIA, 90% of the token supply is concentrated in a single wallet, despite the official website claiming a more balanced distribution.
This structure makes it evident that a few actors holding large token quantities can influence prices to their advantage, leaving new investors vulnerable to externally driven volatility. The biggest risk is information asymmetry: whales can dump their positions within seconds, collapsing the price, while small holders—often without monitoring tools—face losses they cannot foresee.
The launch of $MELANIA triggered a 50% crash in $TRUMP within hours, dropping its price from $75 to $38.
