Former US President Donald Trump made between $100,001 and $1 million through NFT and claimed to have made more than $5 million from his speaking engagements. Trump faces 34 felony charges in New York for falsifying business records.
Former US President Donald Trump is said to have made between $100,001 and $1 million through NFTs. This information comes from an April 14 filing with the United States Office of Government Ethics, according to which Trump served as “manager, president, secretary, and treasurer” of CIC Digital LLC since March 2022. The company granted NFT INT LLC a license to use his name, likeness, and image in the widely publicized “Trump Digital Trading Cards” NFT collection.
The presentation further showed that President Trump earned more than $5 million from his speaking engagements and that he also made less than $201 from Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social. At the time of disclosure, the company was valued between $5 million and $25 million.
President Trump NFTs
President Trump NFT is a collection of 45,000 digital artworks released in December 2022, which attracted the community with its purported association with the former president, selling out on the day of its release.
The NFT collection featured a series of digital “cards” depicting Trump in various iconic poses and situations, including Trump as a muscular wrestling champion, Trump holding a basketball, and even Trump in space.
“These limited edition cards feature amazing ART from my life and career!” Trump said at the time, adding that the cards, which cost $99 (£81) each, “would make a great Christmas gift”.
There were a total of 45,000 NFTs, all minted on Polygon, a second-tier scaling solution that works alongside the Ethereum Blockchain and enables fast transactions and low fees.
Since then, the collection has seen its value hit by media coverage surrounding Trump, reaching an all-time high of 0.675 ETH in February, according to data from Coingecko. The collection’s sales volume more than doubled before the former president’s appearance in New York City.
Moreover, according to CryptoSlam, the collection has a total trading volume of over $19 million, an indication of the level of interest it generated within the community.
Meanwhile, various controversies have plagued the collection since its release. There have been accusations of insider trading of the rarer NFTs in the collection, along with reports of stolen art.
Collection Owners
The New York Times linked NFTs to serial entrepreneur Bill Zanker, who has worked with Trump before. According to the report, a significant portion of the sales proceeds had been promised to Trump.
On top of that, the management of NFT INT LLC Wyoming has been linked to shell corporations in the past.
Meanwhile, the collection’s official website states that it is “not owned, operated or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Digital LLC, or any of their respective directors or affiliates.”
The website also added that NFTs “are not political and have nothing to do with any political campaign.”
Trump faces 34 felony charges in New York for falsifying business records, as well as several investigations for his actions during his time as president.
By Audy Castaneda
