Donald Trump is one of those public figures who find the limelight wherever they go. On December 16, the former President of the United States (POTUS) made headlines once again, this time for launching his own NFT collection. The move came as a surprise to many, given Trump's anti-crypto stance.
However, the man seems to know what he is doing, with the entire collection selling out in less than 12 hours. But what is the Trump NFT collection, and why is there so much hype around it? Let's dig deeper.
Donald Trump and his NFT collection
Last Thursday, Donald Trump teased his followers on Truth Social with a major announcement. Since Trump only recently announced his candidacy for re-election, most people assumed the announcement would entail something about his 2024 Presidential campaign. However, to everyone's surprise, he announced that he was launching an NFT collection. For the unacquainted, Truth Social is a social media platform that Trump created and has used ever since he was banned from Twitter in Jan 2021.
The collection, created on the Polygon network, features hundreds of digital trading cards depicting events from Trump's life and career. There are 45,000 digital cards for sale, priced at $99 each. Some designs will be one-of-a-kind, while others could have 2, 5, 7, 10 or 20 copies. No one can choose which NFT they buy; it is auto-generated and delivered to the linked wallet.
Although he never used the term NFT or Non-Fungible Tokens directly, that is precisely what these digital cards are. NFTs are unique digital assets serving as proof of ownership on a blockchain. The previous year saw a meteoric rise in NFT prices and sales volume.
Some top NFT projects, such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) or Axie Infinity, were selling for astronomical prices. However, this year has been more of a downer. The crypto winter seems neverending and has also affected the NFT market. NFT sales dipped almost 60 percent in the third quarter of 2022 and continue to plummet month-on-month. Given these circumstances, nobody expected Trump to release an NFT collection, especially not at this point.
His wife, the former First Lady Melania Trump, launched her own NFT collection in February this year. The market was doing better back then. However, Donald Trump followed in her footsteps, although the timing is a little off. Global recession, rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and several other factors have dampened the market to a considerable degree. Yet Trump managed to sell out all his 45,000 NFTs in just 12 hours, and that’s no joke, especially in a time like this.
According to the website, the collection was developed by a company called NFT INT. The footer of the page mentions that NFT INT is in no way owned or controlled by Donald Trump. Instead, NFT INT has procured a license to use Donald J Trump's name, likeness and image for the project. In return, they receive 10 percent of the sales proceeds, none of which will be used to fund Trump's re-election campaign. However, what Trump does with his sales proceeds is anyone's guess.
Perks with the package
Trump is known for his flamboyance, and it has found its way here as well. If you own a Trump NFT, you could win some fantastic prizes. For instance, all holders of this NFT are automatically enrolled in a raffle. Several winners will be selected, and each will be given a different prize. Some prizes include a gala dinner with Trump in Florida, a meet and greet cocktail hour, dinner for two at Trump Tower in New York, a zoom call with the former POTUS, hand-signed memorabilia, etc.
The more NFTs you buy, the more entries you can send into the raffle. Also, those who buy 45 or more NFTs are guaranteed a ticket to the gala dinner in Florida. The venue for this gala dinner is said to be the historic Mar-a-Lago, a 126-room, members-only club with a spa and other luxury hotel-style amenities. Trump purchased the historic landmark in 1985 and transformed it into a luxurious resort. And as of now, over 250 people have purchased more than 45 NFTs from the collection.
The Trump NFT collection is among the top trending NFT projects on OpenSea at the moment. The floor price has gone up, reaching almost $650 from its initial price of $99. Now that's quite a jump. So, besides the perks and benefits, these NFTs have already given their holders plenty of gains.
Conclusion
Sure, Donald Trump is unpredictable, but the man seems to know what he is doing. His foray and success in the world of NFTs speak to this fact. And judging by the response to his first NFT collection, Trump may be spurred to launch several other such projects in the future.
