$MELANIA: How Melania Trump's Memecoin Became a Multi-Million Dollar Disaster

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver criticized Melania Trump's memecoin in a segment on HBO. The coin, stylized as $MELANIA, was launched by the first lady in January 2025, just before her husband's second term began.

Oliver noted that the name of the coin, Smelania, seems to be a typo and could have been avoided with more attention to detail. However, he also highlighted the larger issue of the Trump family's involvement in crypto schemes.

The host pointed out that the family's various coins initially skyrocketed in value but then crashed hard, resulting in almost complete wipeout in value for some of them. Despite this, Donald Trump walked away with a $636 million payout from his coin.

According to Oliver, the Trumps' crypto businesses have become their dominant business interest, with the family making over 1.4 billion dollars in just one year from these ventures. This is despite the fact that their real estate empire and other businesses are overshadowed by their crypto schemes.