In February 2025, YouTube sleuth Stephen Findeisen, better known as Coffeezilla, dropped a bombshell interview that rocked the crypto world. His guest was Hayden Davis, head of Kelsier Ventures and a central figure in the controversies surrounding $MELANIA and $LIBRA meme coins.
Aired on February 17, the conversation peeled back the layers of $MELANIA—a token launched by Melania Trump on January 19, 2025, on the Solana blockchain. What started as a high-profile meme project morphed into allegations of manipulation and betrayal, with Coffeezilla’s interrogation providing damning evidence.
Davis, already tarnished by the $LIBRA collapse in Argentina, admitted his team’s role in $MELANIA’s launch.
He confessed to “sniping”—scooping up tokens at the outset to inflate prices artificially. “We wanted to shield the project from other snipers after seeing what happened with $TRUMP,” he claimed, referencing Donald Trump’s token. But his defense rang hollow. Bubblemaps data revealed a wallet tied to Davis pocketing $2.4 million in profits, later funneled through Avalanche. Coffeezilla cornered him, spotlighting a wallet that dumped $1.5 million in tokens. Davis deflected: “We didn’t pull liquidity—that’s something else,” he said, sidestepping the accusation.
The interview laid bare the cynical machinery of meme coins. Davis argued such tactics were industry-standard, vital to keep tokens afloat. “Without it, whales would crash the project,” he insisted, glossing over the fallout for everyday investors who lost millions. $MELANIA, which peaked at $13.73, nosedived over 90%, leaving chaos in its wake. Its link to $LIBRA, another Davis debacle, fueled suspicions of a serial scam. Coffeezilla deftly exposed the contradictions: if this was a “plan gone awry,” as Davis claimed, why did insiders walk away enriched?
The scandal reverberated beyond crypto. Melania Trump’s involvement—lending her name to the token—sparked debate over the ethics of leveraging political fame. With the White House silent, Coffeezilla’s exposé ignited a firestorm: X erupted with #MelaniaScam, and analysts predict lawsuits ahead.
As of March 9, 2025, $MELANIA limps along below $0.75, its market cap a meager $188 million — a far cry from its revolutionary hype. Davis, squirming under Coffeezilla’s lens, seemed detached from the wreckage, while the host, with his signature blend of sarcasm and facts, drove home a brutal truth: in the meme coin arena, greed trumps dreams.
NOT investment advice.
