The launch of the Melania coin (MELANIA) on Binance has sparked a remarkable surge in its value, with the cryptocurrency soaring by up to 76% shortly after Binance announced that it would support USDT-based perpetual contracts for the meme coin. This major development was revealed on January 20, 2025, at 09:30 UTC, and came just two days after Binance launched TRUMPUSDT perpetual contracts on January 18, 2025. The introduction of perpetual contracts for MELANIA on Binance has caught the attention of traders and investors alike, leading to a sharp spike in trading activity and the price of the coin.
Perpetual contracts are a popular derivative product that allows traders to speculate on the price of an asset without an expiration date, and in this case, Binance is offering a leverage of up to 25x for MELANIA USDT-based perpetual contracts. This gives traders the ability to amplify their exposure to price movements, making the contracts more attractive for those looking to profit from short-term volatility. According to Binance’s announcement, the contracts will be settled in Tether (USDT) and have a tick size of 0.001, with funding fees that occur every four hours. The maximum financing rate is set to +2.00% and -2.00%, creating an additional layer of complexity for traders who will need to account for potential fluctuations in financing costs.
Once the announcement was made, the price of MELANIA spiked dramatically. Within minutes, the token’s price surged from approximately $7.50 to as high as $13.06, representing an increase of nearly 76%. However, the rally was short-lived, and the price eventually settled back down to around $12.59 as of the time of writing. Despite this pullback, the spike in price led to a substantial increase in market capitalization and trading volume, reflecting the growing interest in the coin.
This surge in MELANIA’s value occurred against the backdrop of the meme coin’s already impressive trading statistics. Since its debut, MELANIA has generated more than $40 billion in trading volume and has achieved a fully diluted valuation of nearly $60 billion. Its market capitalization currently stands at around $1.8 billion, having grown by an additional $300 million in just a matter of hours after Binance’s announcement. This dramatic increase underscores the volatile nature of meme coins, especially when they are paired with major events such as a listing on a major exchange like Binance.
Interestingly, the TRUMP coin, which had gained significant attention in the meme coin space, has seen little movement in comparison to MELANIA. As of now, TRUMP’s market capitalization remains at $11.7 billion, with only slight fluctuations in its value. TRUMP has already suffered a major loss of $7.5 billion in market cap following the launch of MELANIA, suggesting that the new coin may have shifted some of the spotlight away from TRUMP.
In a particularly striking example of the potential returns from trading MELANIA, a trader reportedly turned a $680,000 investment in Solana into an astounding $30.4 million by purchasing 5.203 million MELANIA tokens just minutes after the coin’s debut. This individual bought the tokens at a price of $0.13 per MELANIA, and despite the price correction, they still hold approximately 2.5 million tokens that are now worth around $30 million. This highlights the immense volatility and potential for massive returns (or losses) in the rapidly evolving meme coin market.
The rise of MELANIA coin also reflects a broader trend in the cryptocurrency space, where meme coins have gained increasing popularity among traders seeking high-risk, high-reward investments. The ability to speculate on these coins with leverage through perpetual contracts has further fueled interest, as traders look to capitalize on short-term price movements. While the volatility of meme coins like MELANIA and TRUMP can be enticing, it also brings inherent risks, as seen with the significant fluctuations in market cap and price.
With the ongoing support of major exchanges like Binance and other platforms such as Bitget and ByBit launching perpetual contracts for both MELANIA and TRUMP, it appears that the meme coin phenomenon will continue to capture attention and stir up significant market movements in the cryptocurrency space. However, given the high volatility and speculative nature of these assets, traders and investors should proceed with caution and be aware of the risks involved in trading meme coins.