A new wave of controversy has engulfed the MELANIA meme coin. Blockchain tracking platform Arkham revealed that the development team withdrew $1 million worth of liquidity from the Solana-based platform Meteora and moved the funds to a fresh wallet. Although meme coins have traditionally thrived on speculative momentum and celebrity branding, this incident has sparked fears of a potential rug pull.
Indeed, this concern is amplified by the project’s history of questionable token movements. As investors question the token’s legitimacy, the entire crypto community is taking a closer look at MELANIA’s recurring liquidity dumps and dwindling trust.
Melania Liquidity Vanishes
The $1 million withdrawal on April 29 is not MELANIA’s first liquidity controversy, and it may not be its last. In the weeks leading up to the latest event, the developers had already sold around $1.5 million worth of MELANIA tokens via decentralized exchanges.
According to data from Lookonchain and EmberCN, these withdrawals follow a well-worn playbook. They remove funds, fragment holdings across multiple wallets, and unload them through aggregators like Jupiter using dollar-cost averaging (DCA) tactics. While the method appears calculated to minimize market disruption, critics argue it obscures the full extent of insider activity and shields large-scale exits from scrutiny.
On April 28, just a day before the $1 million pull, the team reportedly sold nearly $938,000 in tokens. That followed another $632,000 in sales just 48 hours earlier. Although such moves could be brushed off as strategic liquidity management in another context, the frequency, scale, and stealth behind MELANIA’s sell-offs have only reinforced fears that this could be an orchestrated slow-motion rug pull. Combined, these sales have reflected an estimated $14.75 million offloaded by the developers since mid-April.
Market Sentiment Crumbles
These liquidity removals come at a time when the meme coin market is already showing signs of fatigue. MELANIA, once touted as a politically charged collectible with viral potential, is now trading at just $0.39. This is a collapse of over 99% from its peak valuation. Despite occasional rebounds, like the recent 21% uptick, investor confidence remains deeply fractured. The rapid erosion in market cap, combined with repeated fund movements and lack of transparency, has painted a grim picture of the token’s future.
The situation also shows a market trend. Traders are shifting focus toward tokens backed by real-world utility, such as AI and RWA (real-world asset) projects. In contrast, MELANIA’s repeated liquidity extractions and lack of developer accountability leave it dangerously exposed to both market abandonment and potential regulatory scrutiny. While some community members still hold out hope for a turnaround, most observers now see the project as a cautionary tale.
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