# Meteora Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) and memecoin launchpad that hosted both the $TRUMP and $MELANIA token launches in January 2025. Benjamin Chow's platform went from a mid-tier Solana DEX to one of the largest by volume on the back of those launches — and was subsequently named in fraud litigation alleging it participated in coordinated memecoin schemes. ## The Launch Infrastructure Role - **Jan 17, 2025:** Hosts the $TRUMP launch (see [[$TRUMP Launch]]). - **Jan 19, 2025:** Hosts the $MELANIA launch two days later (see [[$MELANIA Launch]]). - **Volume impact:** Monthly volume jumped **239%** — from $16.3B in December 2024 to $55.3B in January 2025. Meteora captured a peak 29.71% daily share of Solana DEX volume in Q1 2025, briefly becoming the second-largest Solana DEX. ## Benjamin Chow & Litigation Meteora founder Benjamin Chow was named in an October 2025 class action filing that alleged he, along with [[Hayden Davis]] of [[Kelsier Ventures]], operated a **$57M memecoin fraud scheme** using coordinated liquidity and wash trading across multiple tokens. The same filing alleged that the team "weaponized fame to disarm diligence" in the $MELANIA launch. The litigation has not established Meteora's direct involvement in the $TRUMP-specific insider activity, but the platform's role as the common launchpad for $TRUMP, $MELANIA, and $LIBRA (the collapsed Argentine memecoin) has drawn regulatory attention. ## Why It Matters Meteora is the technical plumbing beneath the [[$TRUMP Memecoin Universe]]. The launchpad's AMM pool mechanics, liquidity lock-up schedules, and fee-routing contracts are what translate "launch a token" from a blog post into a functioning global market. Without Meteora (or an equivalent launchpad), there's no $TRUMP token — and no $148M gala ticket bidding war. ## See Also - [[$TRUMP Memecoin Universe]] - [[$TRUMP Launch]] - [[$MELANIA Launch]] - [[Kelsier Ventures]] - [[Hayden Davis]] - [[Fight Fight Fight LLC]]