- On Thursday, Ivanka Trump publicly denounced an unauthorized meme coin project claiming to be linked to her name in a post on X.
- This comes on the heels of Donald Trump and Melania launching their own meme coins over the weekend, further fueling the growing trend of political figures venturing into the cryptocurrency space.
As the number of Solana-based meme coin scams continues to rise, Ivanka Trump, the second child of U.S. President Donald Trump, has issued a notice on X regarding the unauthorized promotion of a cryptocurrency using her name. Ivanka shared her concern, stating, “It has come to my attention that a fake crypto coin called ‘Ivanka Trump’ or ‘$IVANKA’ is being promoted without my consent or approval.”
It has come to my attention that a fake crypto coin called “Ivanka Trump” or “$IVANKA” is being promoted without my consent or approval.
To be clear: I have no involvement with this coin. This fake coin risks deceiving consumers and defrauding them of their hard-earned money,…
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 23, 2025
She further clarified:
To be clear: I have no involvement with this coin. This fake coin risks deceiving consumers and defrauding them of their hard-earned money, and the unauthorized use of my name and likeness is a violation of my rights. This promotion is deceptive, exploitative, and unacceptable. My legal team is reviewing and will be pursuing measures to stop the continued misuse of my name.
Ivanka’s warning comes in the wake of her father’s involvement in the growing trend of meme coins. President Donald Trump launched his Solana-based meme coin, TRUMP, just before his inauguration. Over the weekend, Melania Trump followed suit with the launch of her own token, MELANIA.
Vitalik Buterin’s Concerns Over Political Meme Coins
The rise of political meme coins has caught the attention of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who recently took to X to raise alarms about the ethical implications of such tokens. Buterin cautioned that political tokens can be used as tools for “unlimited” bribery, particularly through the involvement of foreign nation-states looking to exert influence. He pointed out that while crypto projects generally carry risks for voluntary participants, political tokens introduce a far more significant threat due to their potential misuse for political gain.
There is perhaps an analogy with weed here.
Ten years ago, to many weed represented freedom, and rebellion against sclerotic old order that denied self-sovereignty over our bodies. Then, weed became legalized, and "official".
On that day, I remember my personal interest in weed…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 23, 2025
Buterin elaborated, saying, “Now is the time to talk about the fact that large-scale political coins cross a further line: they are not just sources of fun, they are vehicles for unlimited political bribery, including from foreign nation-states.”
Currently, TRUMP is trading at $35, reflecting a 5% decline in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, MELANIA is trading at $2.17, showing a 6.49% drop in market cap but an 8.94% increase in trading volume. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, both TRUMP and MELANIA tokens are controlled by around 40 whales.
As we reported, these whales hold $10 million or more in each token, collectively accounting for 94% of the total supply of both assets. Additionally, more than 77% of the wallets holding the crypto asset have not made more than $100 in profits. The concentration of these tokens in the hands of a few individuals has raised concerns about market manipulation and the fairness of these cryptocurrencies.
