Donald Trump's NFT Collection Sells Out Within 24 Hours

• Financial

Former US President Donald Trump's recently released collection of digital "baseball cards" in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has caused a stir in the crypto community, selling out within 24 hours of their release.

The collection features card art depicting various aspects of Trump's life and career, including him dressed as a cowboy, astronaut, stockbroker, race car driver, and Superman. Despite some initial mockery, all 45,000 NFTs sold out within around 12 hours, according to data from OpenSea, raising a total of over $4.45 million.

The collection's creators also receive 10% of each sale on secondary markets. Traders have spent a total of $7.5 million (6374 Ether) trading the NFTs on OpenSea, resulting in an additional $520,000 for the creators. Each NFT purchased also entered customers into a raffle for the chance to win prizes such as a 20-minute meeting with Trump, a Zoom call, a round of golf, or autographed memorabilia.

Additionally, buyers of 45 separate NFTs won guaranteed tickets to a gala dinner in Florida attended by 2,000 guests, including Trump. “Trump Digital Trading Cards (NFTs) are intended as collectible items for individual enjoyment only, not for investment vehicles,” clarified the investment page.

It is worth noting that Trump has previously spoken out against cryptocurrencies, calling them a "scam" that threatens the dominance of the US dollar. However, he did support the NFT campaign of his wife, Melania Trump, who launched her own Solana-based NFT collection a year ago to raise money for the education of foster children.

“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”. Despite Trump's past criticism of crypto, it appears that his NFTs are in high demand, with some trading above their original selling price on OpenSea at a current low of 0.31 ETH, worth $366.91.

The investment page for the collection emphasized that the NFTs are intended as collectible items for individual enjoyment only, and not as investment vehicles. The site also highlighted that the cards were minted on the environmentally friendly and carbon neutral platform Polygon.