No Chump Change: Trump Made $3.9 Million From His NFT Collection
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Donald Trump’s supporters are truly unparalleled in their fandom for the former president. After announcing a 2024 presidential bid, Trump is once again thrust into the center of a media frenzy. An announcement in mid-December of a non-fungible token (NFT) drop has given plenty of ammunition to opponents of a Trump presidency. Critics label Trump NFTs as a pain. And yet they show that Trump can still tap astonishing amounts of commodity revenue from even the slow-rolling NFT space.
NFTs have had little momentum going for them in recent months. Many had labeled the digital symbols a fad, at least in their current digital art niche. And in the second half of 2022, many of these critics probably feel quite justified. Trading volume had fallen 97% between January and September this year, and price falls show the market is not the cash cow it once was.
No project exemplifies this as Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. Consistently ranked among the top NFT projects, even Bored Apes has not escaped NFT volatility. At the time of FTXs early November collapse, Bored Ape prices were down 82% from peak prices.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has seen his own share of volatility. Although the former president wants to secure another term, he is struggling to maintain the huge momentum among Republicans he once had. Trump has seen a drastic drop in support from GOP voters since the campaign announcement. Political commentators suggest Trump is in for a big fight among his own political allies, too, speculating on a run by one-time Trump ally Gov. Ron DeSantis and others.
It is obvious that both Trump and the NFT industry are facing rough waters. However, the former president has proven he still has enough support to turn a dying industry into a personal cash cow.
Trump NFT’s net former president millions in 12 hours
The Trump NFTs were immediately joke material. First teased by Trump as a “BIG ANNOUNCEMENT,” the big reveal left a lot to be desired. The tokens themselves have also been heavily ridiculed for their appearance. Not to mention, people on social media have pointed out that the art on them borrows from stock photos found across the internet. And yet, with their obvious mistakes, Trump has been able to capitalize on the news for millions.
Priced at $99 apiece upon release, Trump released a whopping 44,000 tokens for purchase on December 15th. Less than 12 hours later, all 44,000 had been sold. Even after paying the hefty 10% creator fee, sales grossed over $3.9 million. That’s no small change, especially for an NFT industry that has seen far better days. However, it’s unclear how much money Trump will personally get out of the release; the company behind the sale is an LLC called NFT INCwith a mailing address at a UPS store in Utah.
Data from Open sea shows the buyers of this collection represent some of the most ardent Trump fans. The total number of owners of these NFTs is only 15,420 users. This means that each buyer bought, on average, three different NFTs for around $300. Many of these buyers get their money out of flipping tokens and they are proving to be quite successful. The average Trump NFT resells at around 0.25 Ethereum (ETH-USD), or around $300 each. Some have even sold for as high as $900.
Of course, the news has brought in some ridicule, even from Saturday Night Live writer’s room; after all, there are fewer subjects that will be criticized more in 2022 than NFTs and Donald Trump. Regardless, political opponents should note the sale as a point of concern heading into the 2024 race. His support may have been slipping since 2020. But Trump has shown an astonishing ability to extract funding from any industry, struggling or not. The success of the NFT sale may even push the former president to bring back Trump Steaks for another try.
At the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
