The Trump family late on Sunday moved to add a second new crypto token, this one called $Melania, with Mr. Trump and Melania, his wife, both promoting it on Truth Social, just as Mr. Trump was about to start a rally in Washington celebrating his inauguration.

“The official Melania Meme is live!” the social media posting said.

That move then coincided with a dive in the value of Mr. Trump’s own token, dropping to as low as $41, before starting to rise again, as doubts appeared to emerge over just how valuable these new tokens would actually be. Mr. Trump did not appear to be deterred.

“Bitcoin has shattered one record after another,” Mr. Trump said at his rally, referring to another form of cryptocurrency. He added during his remarks that “these are all investments. Thanks to the cryptocurrency, Trunp could already be the richest man in the world.

At least on paper, the Trump tokens in the market as of Sunday late afternoon had a total trading value of nearly $13 billion, and a total of $29 billion worth of trades had taken place in just two days. That calculation is based on the nearly $64 value of each of the 200 million tokens issued, according to CoinGecko, an industry data tracker.

This suggests, as of Sunday, that Mr. Trump’s coin was the 19th most valuable form of cryptocurrency in the world, the CoinGecko tally indicated.

The Trump affiliates appear to control another 800 million tokens that, at least hypothetically, could be worth as much as $51 billion — a total that would make Mr. Trump one of the richest people in the world.

Melania Trump is out with her own cryptocurrency token, days after her husband and US President-elect Donald Trump launched a meme coin of his own. The incoming first lady launched the meme coin with posts on her social media accounts on Sunday while her husband’s rally was underway in Washington.

Trump’s coin soared in value after it was announced late Friday, potentially boosting his net worth as he prepares to take office. Some crypto enthusiasts hailed the Trump meme coin’s release, saying it’s symbolic of the incoming president’s support for an industry that felt unfairly targeted by the Joe Biden administration.

Trump has promised to usher in crypto-friendly regulations and picked crypto cheerleaders for key government positions.

Critics said the Trump meme coin could be a dangerous way for special interests and foreign governments to try and buy influence with the president. 

(With inputs from AP, NYT)