Crypto-Skeptic Donald Trump Holds $500,000 in Ethereum

• Financial

It seems that the tides of change have brought about a major shift in the stance of the former U.S. president and current Republican front-runner for the 2024 election. Donald Trump, who once dismissed the potential and value of cryptocurrencies, now owns a considerable amount of Ethereum.

According to a recent financial disclosure form, Trump possesses Ethereum valued between $250,000 and $500,000. This revelation comes from an 82-page press release submitted to the Government Ethics Office, detailing a variety of the former president's assets and income streams.

The NFT Connection: How Digital Art Played a Role

Delving deeper, it emerges that Trump's Ethereum wallet is closely associated with a unique venture: a line of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) instigated by his campaign. These NFTs—virtual trading cards showcasing Trump in various avatars, such as a superhero, cowboy, and astronaut—were unveiled in December 2022 at a retail price of $99 each.

This strategic endeavor generated a staggering $8.9 million in revenue, bringing in approximately $298,000 from licensing fees alone. Furthermore, Melania Trump, the former first lady, ventured into the NFT sphere herself.

She transformed iconic images from NASA's moon landing into digital art pieces, priced at $75 each. However, her initiative attracted controversy as NASA pinpointed that trading these images violated the agency's regulations.

Revisiting Trump's Earlier Stance on Cryptocurrencies

Donald Trump's pivot into the crypto space is all the more intriguing given his previous reservations. While serving as president, his only public comment about the cryptocurrency sector was a tweet from July 2019, where he expressed his disinterest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Though the tweet was later removed, Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's former White House communications director, speculated that Trump might not have been the original author. Moreover, in a post-presidential interview with Fox Business in June 2021, Trump went as far as labeling Bitcoin, the foremost traded cryptocurrency, as a probable "scam." He also emphasized his preference for traditional fiat currency.