On exploitation: Propaganda of "legality" and the network of interests around Trump's Meme battles

When Meme Coins Turn into Power Games

A few weeks after the token bearing his name hit the exchanges, former U.S. President declared at a press conference: “Besides knowing I issued it, I don’t know anything else.” This statement may seem teasing, but it inadvertently reveals the truth – the creators of this meme frenzy are not old politicians, but crypto entrepreneurs behind the scenes, who don’t need any economic background to make huge profits from retail investors.

The craze began in the first weekend of the 2025 presidential term. The TRUMP token immediately skyrocketed from nearly zero to $74 in just a few hours. Then, MELANIA launched at $13. Aside from a few early movers, almost no one was happy to leave this game – two days later, both tokens started to plummet and never recovered. By December 2025, TRUMP had fallen 92%, MELANIA 99%, becoming nearly worthless.

But in that short time, early holders made enormous amounts of money. According to blockchain analysis firms, the related groups earned over $350 million – and no one is willing to reveal how.

Meme Fighting: From Joke to Illegal Casino

These tokens have no value from a traditional financial perspective. They do not represent any real product or cash flow. Instead, they rely entirely on hype – buyers hope to sell at a higher price to others. Essentially, it’s a game with very clear rules: insiders always win.

Meme coins originated in 2013 as a joke. Two software engineers chose the “Shiba Inu dog” meme as the symbol for a new cryptocurrency called Dogecoin, intending to satirize the crypto wave. They never predicted that investors would flood in, pushing the value to $12 million in just a few weeks.

But over the years, Meme coins didn’t just survive – they flourished. When Elon Musk began praising Dogecoin in 2021, these tokens were created even faster. Dogwifhat, Bonk, Fartcoin… appeared, each promising unbelievable profits.

The Pump.fun platform became the hub of this phenomenon. Alon Cohen, 22, co-founder of the platform, revealed they had supported the issuance of about 1,400 Meme coins, with transaction fees from January 2024 to now reaching $1 billion. Creating a token only takes a few clicks – no programming, no paperwork, no blockchain knowledge needed.

What do high transaction fees reveal? Meme fighting has become a way for trading platforms to illegally profit from the chaotic market.

The Behind-the-Scenes Players: From Davis to “Cat” in Singapore

Who are the people behind the Trump and Melania tokens? The flow of money points in one direction.

Hayden Davis, crypto advisor to Argentine President Javier Milei, quickly became the center of a scandal. He works with his father Tom, who was previously jailed for check fraud, and the father-son duo founded Kelsier Ventures. This company operates as a “investment bank” for Meme coins – advising, connecting with influencers, managing transactions.

When Milei’s Libra token collapsed in February 2025, Davis quickly publicly claimed to be a “consultant,” but then went silent as public messages showed him using racist language and declaring “sell as much as possible, even if the price drops to zero.” Blockchain data shows Davis and associates earned over $150 million from Libra and other Meme coins.

But Davis isn’t the actual operator. According to Moty Povolotski, former co-founder of DefiTuna, Davis often mentioned “Ben said so,” “Ben told me to do it” in messages. Ben Chow is CEO of the Meteora exchange, where the largest tokens (including TRUMP, MELANIA, LIBRA) were first issued.

Behind Ben Chow is Ng Ming Yeow, a Singaporean entrepreneur in his 40s, using a spacecat avatar online and known in trader circles as “Meow.” Ng Ming Yeow is co-founder of Meteora and also developed the Jupiter trading app.

When asked about Meteora’s role in issuing the Trump token, Ng Ming Yeow emphasized that his exchange only “provides technical support,” and does not engage in trading or do anything illegal. However, Blockworks reports that 90% of Meteora’s $134 million revenue last year came from Meme coin transactions, and the Trump token launch weekend was the second-largest trading volume in the exchange’s history.

Flattering Network: Bill Zanker and “Fight Fight Fight LLC”

Who arranges everything? It seems Bill Zanker, a 71-year-old entrepreneur who co-authored business books with Trump in 2007 and has a history of developing “attention-grabbing” projects with the former President.

Zanker appears in Delaware records related to “Fight Fight Fight LLC” – the company listed on the TRUMP token website. When contacted by Bloomberg Businessweek, Zanker did not respond. But he hosted a party in May 2025 at Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia, where top holders were invited to party with the President.

Senator Elizabeth Warren called this event a “corruption party.” One of the biggest investors was Chinese-origin crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who bought $15 million worth of TRUMP tokens. A few months earlier, a U.S. regulatory fraud lawsuit against Sun was suspended.

Lack of Oversight: Where Fraud Becomes Legal

After Milei’s collapse, the U.S. SEC declared “not regulated,” only saying “other anti-fraud laws may still apply.” But so far, no regulatory agency or prosecutor has intervened.

New York lawyer Max Burwick calls this system “the ultimate value extraction machine,” designed by a talented group. He represents investors who lost money suing Pump.fun, calling it “a manipulated casino by insiders,” and also sues Davis, Ben Chow, and Meteora for participating in a scam pump and dump.

But as meme fighting continues to exist, and those earning hundreds of millions remain silent or deny, it’s very difficult to find enough public evidence to prosecute. Ng Ming Yeow defends himself by saying he only “builds technology,” and does not control how people use it. But in this field, that’s essentially saying: “This shop is not responsible if customers make money from illegal betting.”

Aftermath: Meme Fighting Sleeps, but the Game Continues

By November 2025, Meme coin trading volume had dropped 92% from the January peak. Stars no longer promote, investors are “shorn” until they run out of money.

But the Trump family has shifted focus. The project World Liberty Financial Inc. raised $550 million from exclusive token sales. They plan to develop their own crypto trading app soon. Zanker announced a mobile game “Trump Billionaire Club” integrating Meme coins.

Meanwhile, people like Ng Ming Yeow, and Meteora’s issuance of private tokens in October, now have a valuation exceeding $300 million. As meme fighting cools down, trading platforms remain bustling. Blockchain data shows Davis’s wallets are still active, trading new Meme coins.

As long as the supporters of meme fighting remain silent, it’s very hard to know how much they’ve made. But one thing is certain: those who lost money can count it.