What happened?
Meteora airdropped about $4.2 million worth of $MET to three addresses tied to the Trump crypto team just hours after the protocol’s co-founder was hit with a class-action accusing him of pump-and-dump schemes. Blockchain trackers showed those addresses were linked to the TRUMP token and initial liquidity providers, and all three quickly moved the tokens to OKX, likely to cash out. The lawsuit and on-chain analysis say this fits a larger pattern of creating hype with celebrity endorsements, seeding liquidity, then draining it to profit insiders.
Who does this affect?
The immediate victims are the Trump-linked wallets that got the airdrop and retail investors who bought into TRUMP, MELANIA, LIBRA and other related memecoins. Many retail traders have already seen catastrophic losses — some tokens fell more than 99% — and could face additional liquidations or frozen funds. Exchanges, auditors, and on-chain analysts are also affected as regulators and plaintiffs try to trace funds, which could lead to freezes, delistings, or legal actions.
Why does this matter?
This matters because it highlights how easily memecoin markets can be manipulated and how quickly confidence and liquidity can evaporate when insiders cash out. Large liquidity drains and crashes, like MELANIA’s drop from double digits to cents, can trigger broad sell-offs and wipe out market value in minutes. With lawsuits and potential regulatory follow-ups, we can expect tighter scrutiny, more delistings, and less speculative appetite — all of which can reduce market liquidity and depress prices across similar tokens.