How Did Insiders Profit From the Melania Coin?

TL;DR

Two wallets linked through blockchain transactions and leaked messages to people working on the Melania coin launch bought tokens before the public announcement, then allegedly earned about $21 million in combined profit. The investigation argues that their advance knowledge, business relationship with the launch team, rapid purchases, and transfers to a wallet described by Hayden Davis as his personal money constitute evidence of insider trading.

Transcript

someone stole over $21 million from the president's supporters and his wife in what I believe is the first ever presidential insider trading case and I'm going to track down the person responsible in this video you may have heard Melania Trump recently announced a memecoin which is not great but worse it was heavily sniped meaning frontr run by 24 ... Read More

Key Insights

• The investigation identifies 24 wallets that purchased Melania coins before the public announcement, raising questions about how traders confidently committed substantial money while many fake Trump-related coins were circulating.
• Two wallets linked to Hayden Davis allegedly earned about $21 million combined by purchasing Melania coins before the announcement. One earned $2.5 million after spending $40,000, while the other earned $18.5 million after spending $800,000.
• The timing of the purchases is central to the insider-trading allegation. The first wallet bought two minutes and 21 seconds before the announcement, while the second bought 49 seconds before it, and both began selling within an hour.
• Hayden Davis acknowledged that he participated in the Melania launch and said the team wanted to snipe the coin because of the large amount of sniping that had occurred with the Trump coin.
• Leaked group messages establish that Kelsier and DeFi Tuna worked on market making for the Melania coin before its announcement. An official Melania team wallet transferred 10 million Melania tokens, representing 1% of the supply, for creating liquidity pools.
• A traced payment connects Kelsier to the larger sniper wallet. After Gideon Davis requested 5,600 Solana, the receiving address sent $800,000 in USDC to the sniper wallet about 30 minutes before the announcement.
• The profits from both sniper wallets were transferred through two bridges to a wallet Hayden Davis had called his personal money wallet. The investigation could not determine whether the resulting funds belonged personally to Hayden, his company, or another associated participant.
• The investigation found no evidence that Melania Trump knew about the alleged sniping, planned it, or received profits. The presented allegations instead concern Kelsier, Hayden Davis, and possibly his brother Gideon Davis.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did traders profit from the Melania coin before its announcement?

Two wallets bought substantial amounts of Melania coins shortly before the public announcement and sold after the price increased. One wallet spent $40,000 two minutes and 21 seconds before the announcement and allegedly earned $2.5 million. A second spent $800,000 only 49 seconds beforehand and allegedly earned $18.5 million. Both began selling within an hour and fully exited within 30 days.

Q: Why does the investigation describe the Melania coin trades as insider trading?

The allegation rests on more than unusually early purchases. The wallets were traced to people who allegedly worked with the Melania launch team, received launch information before the public, and participated in market-making preparations. Leaked messages and blockchain transactions connect Kelsier personnel to a funding address that supplied the larger sniper wallet shortly before its pre-announcement purchase.

Q: What evidence connects Hayden Davis to the Melania sniper wallets?

Both sniper wallets transferred profits through bridges to a wallet that Hayden Davis had described as his personal money wallet. That address was identified through his refund payment to Dave Portnoy. Hayden also admitted that he participated in the Melania launch and said the team wanted to snipe the coin, although ownership of every traced dollar was not conclusively established.

Q: What did the leaked Melania coin group messages reveal?

The messages showed Kelsier and DeFi Tuna discussing market-making work before the coin was publicly announced. Gideon Davis said that DeFi Tuna would receive 1% of the total supply, and Vlad Pausnikov confirmed receiving 10 million Melania tokens. Blockchain records showed that those tokens came from an official Melania team wallet, supporting the existence of a pre-launch business relationship.

Q: How was the $800,000 Melania coin purchase traced?

Gideon Davis requested that Vlad Pausnikov return 1.5 million in Solana for other discussed tokens, then provided an address and requested 5,600 Solana. After a one-Solana test, the remaining transfer was completed. The receiving wallet later sent $800,000 in USDC to the sniper wallet about 30 minutes before the announcement, enabling its purchase 49 seconds before launch.

Q: Did the Melania coin sniper wallets follow the stated 30-day lockup?

The public website reportedly said team tokens would remain locked for the first 30 days, but the two traced wallets were not subject to that restriction. Both started selling less than an hour after the public announcement and completed their sales within 30 days. The investigation argues that this conflicted with buyers' expectation that launch insiders would not immediately sell against them.

Q: Did Melania Trump know about or profit from the alleged sniping?

The investigation explicitly found no evidence that Melania Trump knew about the behavior, planned it, or received any profits. Its allegations focus instead on Kelsier, Hayden Davis, and possibly Hayden's brother Gideon Davis. The evidence presented concerns their pre-launch business access, wallet connections, funding transactions, early purchases, and movement of the resulting profits.

Q: How much profit did the linked Melania coin wallets allegedly make?

The two highlighted wallets allegedly made about $21 million in combined profit. The smaller trade turned a $40,000 purchase into $2.5 million in profit, while the larger trade generated $18.5 million after an $800,000 purchase. The broader Financial Times analysis cited in the transcript estimated that 24 secret wallets collectively made $100 million from heavily sniped trading.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The investigation examines 24 wallets that bought Melania coins before the public announcement. Two wallets allegedly connected to Hayden Davis stood out: one spent $40,000 roughly two minutes before the announcement and earned $2.5 million, while another spent $800,000 49 seconds beforehand and earned $18.5 million.

• Blockchain tracing connected both sniper wallets to an address Hayden Davis had described as his personal money wallet when refunding Dave Portnoy. Leaked messages also showed Kelsier and DeFi Tuna discussing market-making work, receiving Melania tokens from an official team wallet, and arranging a Solana transfer shortly before the public launch.

• The evidence indicates that people working with the Melania launch possessed advance knowledge and were connected to wallets that bought and quickly sold tokens. The investigation found no evidence that Melania Trump knew about, planned, or profited from the alleged conduct, instead focusing responsibility on Kelsier, Hayden Davis, and possibly his brother.

• Key Insights