In mid-December 2022, Donald Trump teased a “major announcement”. His followers on Truth Social, where the teaser was posted, speculated wildly, with many speculating that it would be the former president announcing key details for his 2024 presidential campaign.
Donald Trump made his big disclosure on 15 December 2022… Trump NFTs.
The announcement shocked and confused even Trump’s most ardent fans and was ridiculed almost everywhere — but they sold out within 12 hours and could raise more than $4 million for Trump’s personal coffers.
So, what are Trump’s NFTs and why should you care?
What are Donald Trump’s digital trading cards?
One of the first things to note is that the word “NFT” was never used in Trump’s announcements. It is not mentioned on the website, with all phrasing focused on “Digital Trading Cards” instead. Association with the random, notorious world of NFTs is avoided, despite the fact that they are clearly NFTs built on the Polygon blockchain.
The Donald Trump Digital Trading Card Collection consists of 45,000 NFTs, all of which contain images related to Donald Trump in some way. Like many NFT collections, the images reuse certain elements in each image.
For example, some of the images featured Trump in a trademark MAGA hat, making his “You’re Fired” pose, holding a shotgun in military fatigues, and so on, with different backgrounds, color schemes and on a lot.
Rarity is an important part of any NFT collection, and the Trump collection is no different.
Why has Donald Trump released an NFT collection?
There are a few other important details surrounding the Trump NFT collection. First, although there is understandable speculation that NFT collecting is a covert method of campaign funding, the digital trading card site has a disclaimer separating Trump’s NFTs from “any political campaign.”
Second, while this NFT collection is about Donald Trump, and he undoubtedly had some involvement in its creation and development, a big part of the Trump business plan is licensing the name. In this case, the Trump name has been licensed to a company called NFT INT LLC, which is not owned by Trump.
Now, here’s the third idea. While Donald Trump cannot profit directly from NFT sales, and those funds cannot pass into his campaign coffers, his name must be licensed for the project. There is nothing illegal or secret in this; This is how the Trump Organization has operated for decades.
Who Is Benefiting From Trump NFTs?
45,000 NFTs sold for $99 each (by the way, note the symbolic number of NFTs) equals $4.45 million. But if the Trump Organization isn’t pocketing the funds, then who is?
All sales go to NFT INT LLC. In addition, every time a Donald Trump digital trading card is sold, the company pockets 10 percent of the sale. At the time of writing, there has apparently been 663 ETH worth of trading activity on OpenC, one of the most popular NFT markets. 663 ETH is equivalent to $846,000, which means that NFT INT LLC has already earned an additional $84,600, trading is underway and the price could go higher.
On top of that, timing is part of the disdain for Trump NFT collecting. The NFT market is in a slump and has been for months. It’s certainly a long way from the dizzying, insatiable NFT market of early 2022.
Nevertheless, Trump’s digital trading cards sold out within 12 hours, something not seen in the NFT market for some time.
Who Are Donald Trump’s Digital Trading Cards For?
Obviously, the target market for Donald Trump NFTs are Donald Trump supporters. That said, the reaction among Trump supporters has been mixed, to say the least.
However, each Trump NFT purchased entered the buyer into a sweepstakes for various additional prizes, including a gala, a Zoom call with Trump, dinner in Miami, cocktails at Mar-a-Lago, and more.
However, they have struck a chord in the wider NFT community. At least, he has some users who note that the former US President is paying more attention to NFTs than almost anyone else.
Some NFT advocates who want to advance the technology see Trump’s involvement in NFTs as a net positive for the space — even if the Trump NFT announcement looks like a knock-off infomercial.
Furthermore, for many, NFTs are just another commodity to be traded, bartered and bartered. Each Trump digital trading card used to cost $99, but they are already being sold on OpenC for more than that. How much of this is NFT wash trading, we don’t know, but if there is money to be made in Trump NFT trading, you can bet people will do it.
Trump’s NFT breathes life into a faltering market
The Donald Trump Digital Trading Card NFT Collection has clearly captured the imagination of users around the world. Whether the bulk of the buyers were NFT speculators and traders is unclear, but any NFT collections were sold after 12 hours.