Donald J Trump. Source: Deadline.com
Despite his seemingly poor market timing, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recently launched collection of digital “baseball cards” sold out within 24 hours of their release.
The crypto community has reacted with amusement – especially given Trump’s prior statements berating crypto as a “scam.”
As CryptoPotato reported on Thursday, Trump’s NFTs – or “cards” – portray art representing parts of his life and career. The collectibles featured him in various outfits and places, ranging from cowboy getup, to an astronaut suit, to a racecar driver.
“Trump Digital Trading Cards (NFTs) are intended as collectible items for individual enjoyment only, not for investment vehicles,” clarified the investment page.
The collection featured 2,533 NFTs in total sold for $99 each – meaning the sale raised over $250,000. Each NFT purchased entered buyers into sweepstakes with a chance to win various prizes, including a 20-minute meeting with Trump, a zoom call, a golf game, or an autograph signed by the celebrity.
Meanwhile, buyers of 45 separate NFTs earned a guaranteed ticket to a 2000-person Gala dinner with the former president. Each NFT could beat bought with cash, ETH, or WETH.
Melania Trump announced her own Solana-based NFT collection exactly one year ago today. Proceeds were used to raise money for foster children’s education.
Trump has repeatedly bashed Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the past as a “scam” backed by nothing, which threatens the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Nevertheless, he was supportive of his wife’s NFT foray last year.
“I don’t want to have all these other (cryptocurrencies),” he said in an interview with FOX business at the time. “There could be an explosion someday, the likes of which we’ve never seen. It will make the big tech explosion look like baby stuff. I think it’s a very dangerous thing.”
Crypto Twitter couldn’t help but appreciate the contradiction since Trump unveiled his NFTs on Thursday. In total disbelief, crypto podcast host Scott Melker said he hoped the collection would ultimately go to zero so the industry could “start again.”
So far, that hasn’t happened. In fact, Trump’s NFTs are trading above their original sale price on OpenSea, with a current floor price of 0.17 ETH – worth $205 at writing time.