Russians lost about 1 billion rubles on Trump and Melania memcoins
Russian crypto investors suffered serious losses by investing in Trump and Melania memcoins in January 2025, experts believe.
"I think the Russians' losses from investments in Trump and Melania could be estimated at up to 1 billion rubles, although some particularly experienced crypto investors could make a profit," says Oleg Ogienko, an independent expert on blockchain, energy and digital currencies.
Memcoins Trump and Melania were launched in January 2025 on the eve of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. Their exchange rate was characterized by serious volatility. For example, the rate of the Trump token rose to $75, then fell to $9. As a result, most investors were in the red.
Memcoins are a type of cryptocurrency that has quickly gained popularity due to Internet memes and viral marketing. They are created more for the sake of HYPE, jokes or quick profit, rather than for any benefit or technological innovation, experts say.
"Memcoins are most often released without any development team, without a real product, and without a well-thought-out economic model capable of supporting sustainable growth or even basic asset value. As a result, anyone can issue a billion of their tokens and, with proper promotion, cause an artificial stir," says financier, investor and capital protection expert Ivan Orlov.
Often, the organizers of fraudulent projects use an artificial "pump" of the token — when the price soars for a short time due to mass purchases and hype, after which the earliest investors and the creators themselves dump their shares, and the majority of holders remain at the "broken trough".
Read more about the risks of investing in memcoins and fraudulent schemes in the Izvestia investigation:
Hype blinders: memcoins can deprive Russians of 100 billion rubles
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