The presidential harvest: how meme coins became the "perfect value extraction machine"

When Donald Trump and Melania launched their TRUMP and MELANIA tokens in January 2025, the market experienced a historic weekend. Prices skyrocketed within hours, generating a market capitalization that exceeded $5 billion. But what rose quickly fell even faster: TRUMP dropped 92% from its peak of $78.10 to $4.97, while MELANIA plummeted 99% to just $0.16. Hundreds of thousands of investors were ruined as a closed circle of operators extracted over $350 million.

The Missing Link: Bill Zanker and the “Monetize Everything” Dynasty

Behind “Fight Fight Fight LLC”—the anonymous entity that registered the presidential tokens—was Bill Zanker, the 71-year-old entrepreneur who had previously worked with Trump on multiple lucrative projects. His career is a catalog of controversial businesses: he promoted psychic lines in the 90s, organized “Real Estate Wealth Expos” that filled auditoriums, and more recently earned millions launching digital Trump cards at $99 with the former president caricatured as a hunter with laser eyes.

He did not respond to requests for comment, but his presence was confirmed in Delaware documents. His son Dylan also participated in the crypto ecosystem, visible at industry conferences taking photos with sector celebrities.

The Operator Network: From “Presidential Advisor” to Silent CEO

The interesting part begins when investigators started tracking transactions on the blockchain. One address bought $1.1 million worth of TRUMP in seconds—clearly with insider information—and sold three days later, earning $100 million. Another address acquired MELANIA before its public launch and made $2.4 million in profits.

Analysis of these transaction chains revealed startling connections: both addresses belonged to the same operator or team that created MELANIA. Moreover, the technical structure supporting MELANIA was connected to the one backing the LIBRA token of Argentine President Javier Milei—a project that also collapsed, leaving investors ruined.

Hayden Davis: From Ministry to “Unearned” Millions

Milei’s crypto advisor, Hayden Davis, a 32-year-old defector from Liberty University, turned out to be the key link. Davis works with his father Tom, who was previously jailed for check forgery. Together they founded Kelsier Ventures, a kind of crypto investment bank that “advises” token issuers, connects them with influencers, and manages operations.

According to investigators analyzing blockchain transactions, Davis and his partners earned over $150 million through meme coin operations following a suspicious pattern: internal sale → price peak → rapid collapse.

When the scandal erupted in Argentina, Davis posted a video admitting he had helped launch LIBRA. “Yes, I am an advisor to Javier Milei,” he said casually in a striped hoodie and aviator glasses. He admitted to earning $100 million selling the token but claimed he was only “custodying funds”—money he never returned. Later, in an interview with a anti-scam YouTuber, Davis confessed for the first time to having “participated in the launch of MELANIA,” though without detailing his exact role.

“TRUMP, MELANIA, LIBRA… you can keep the list going, it’s all a game,” Davis acknowledged, advising investors to completely avoid the meme coin market.

Ben Chow and Meow: The Platform Behind the Presidents

Reviewed documents showed that Davis maintained constant communication with Ben Chow, then CEO of a crypto platform, regularly mentioning his “instructions” in messages and calls. When a former associate of Davis was interviewed, he revealed that Chow was “very involved in major meme coin launches” on the exchange.

After LIBRA’s collapse, the former associate confronted Chow in a recorded video call. Chow admitted to introducing Davis to Melania’s team: “I just act as a bridge,” he said uncomfortably. The existence of this video call sparked a scandal, and shortly after Chow resigned without further explanation.

But Chow was not the real boss. Behind him was “Meow,” the avatar of a cat wearing an astronaut helmet representing Ming Yeow Ng, a Singaporean entrepreneur in his 40s. Ng is co-founder of a crypto platform that reportedly earned $134 million in revenue last year, with 90% coming from meme coin commissions.

Ming Yeow Ng: The Philosopher of the “Dirty Bathtub”

Finding Ng was not difficult—he is a celebrity among meme coin traders. In meetings with journalists in Singapore, Ng shared a curious philosophy: he claims that “all financial assets are meme coins” because their value depends on “collective belief.” Even the US dollar is a meme coin, according to his logic.

Ng grew up in Singapore working at a street food stall. He studied computer engineering and later worked in San Francisco creating social media tools. He became fascinated with cryptocurrencies at a “Dogecoin-themed party.”

When confronted about his platform’s involvement in Trump, Melania, and Milei tokens, Ng became evasive. He admitted that someone from Trump’s team contacted his company requesting “technical support,” but insisted they only provided that—nothing more. “There was no under-the-table deal,” he declared.

He defended his platform, saying it aims to “allow anyone to issue any token” without “regulating the intentions of issuers.” When asked if his company facilitated scams, Ng used a metaphor: “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. There might be dog poop, baby poop, even E. coli in the bathtub, but maybe there’s a real baby.”

The Manipulation Pattern: “Sell Everything Possible”

A former associate of Davis revealed the core tactic: in private chats, Davis gave clear instructions to his operators. “Sell everything possible, even if the price drops to zero,” he ordered. Specifically for MELANIA, he instructed: “sell when the market cap reaches $100 million and do it anonymously.”

Operators used a technique called “sniping”: they bought massively at launch with insider information, waited for other investors to join, then sold the entire position, causing a price collapse that left the last buyers in total losses.

This pattern repeated with LIBRA in Argentina, with identical results: quick peak, insider mass sell-off, catastrophic collapse.

Presidential Defense and Regulators’ Silence

When Trump was questioned about the tokens at his first presidential press conference, he vaguely replied: “Besides knowing I launched it, I don’t know anything about it.” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was more direct: “The president and his family have never had, and will never have, conflicts of interest.”

One month after the launch, the US SEC announced it would “not regulate” meme coins, only warning that “other anti-fraud laws could apply.” To date, no regulator or prosecutor has intervened.

The Profit Deal: Dinners and Unkept Promises

In April 2025, TRUMP’s website announced that the “largest investors” would have the opportunity to dine with the president. The top 220 buyers were invited to a golf club in Virginia.

The biggest buyer was Justin Sun, a crypto billionaire who had invested $15 million in TRUMP. Months earlier, US regulators had unexpectedly dismissed a fraud lawsuit against Sun, raising suspicions.

Zanker attended as host. He took the stage and held up a magazine with Sun’s face on the cover. But the night did not go as the attendees expected: one participant reported not seeing anyone speak privately with the president. Trump arrived by helicopter, delivered a generic speech about “long live crypto,” and left.

The Collapse and the Legacy of Chaos

As of December 10, TRUMP had fallen to $4.97 from its peak of $78.10. MELANIA was trading at just $0.16, practically worthless. Total meme coin trading volume dropped 92% in November compared to the January peak.

Davis disappeared from the public scene—his social networks are inactive, but the blockchain shows he still operates tokens. Zanker announced a new project: a mobile game called “Trump Billionaire Club” with meme coin elements, but the news did not move prices.

Ng, meanwhile, launched his own cryptocurrency in October with a market cap of over $300 million, solidifying his position in the ecosystem.

The “Value Extraction Machine” Without Regulation

A New York lawyer specializing in market fraud described the phenomenon as “the perfect value extraction machine designed by very capable people.” In 2025, he sued several platforms on behalf of investors, calling them “manipulated casinos by insiders.” The lawsuits remain unresolved, without directly accusing Trump or Milei of irregularities.

While operators like Davis, Chow, and Ng remain silent about their specific gains, the Trump family has diversified its “conflict of interest portfolio”: the president promoted that “the government buy strategic reserves of bitcoin”; his son Eric owns a bitcoin mining company; Trump pardoned key crypto billionaires for his business.

The simple truth is: under the Trump administration’s relaxed financial regulations, when hype promoters make the rules, the market becomes a no-arbitrage playground. Meme coins were just the most visible episode of an uncomfortable truth: with enough media attention, blockchain anonymity, and political permissions, turning hype into cash stopped being a scam and became official policy.