Presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced plans to release a fourth collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The former U.S. president has adopted a crypto-friendly stance, which he is trying to make known in his current campaign. A look at all of Trump's NFT collections.
In an interview conducted just before the first 2024 presidential debate in late June, but published in July after the failed assassination attempt, Trump announced that a new NFT collection was in the works. This announcement comes just half a year after the December 2023 Mug Shot edition was released, and a month after the first physical Mug Shot cards were received by collectors. Is Trump diluting his NFTs? After a strong initial interest and positive reception of his first two collections, with the numbers of the third collection not yet public, how will a fourth collection fare?
Got our beautiful physical Mugshot Trump Digital Trading Cards today. @CollectTrump @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/MEMtbd4Nxn
— Bitcoin Hoodie Guy (@BTCHoodieGuy) May 10, 2024
How Trumps view on crypto changed thanks to NFTs
Since his last run for office, Trump has taken a pro-crypto stance. A smart move to win over influential single-issue voters. Trump has revealed in an interview with Bloomberg that the NFT collections, which he first launched in late 2022, opened his eyes to the crypto community. He also stated that the crypto space is still in it's infancy and that he sees it as his responsibility to take over this sphere and for the US to be a crypto pioneer. Trump seems very interested in keeping crypto companies like MetaMask, which are under heavy fire from the SEC, on home turf.
"And I did it three times and I’m going to do another one, because the people want me to do another one. It’s unbelievable spirit. Beautiful. But the thing I really noticed was everything was paid in - I would say almost all of it was - paid in crypto, in this new currency. And it opened my eyes." - Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate
A crypto wallet believed to be under the control of Donald Trump held over $2.8 million in crypto, most likely from royalties associated with collecting Trump cards. Today, the wallet holds nearly $11 million, almost half of which is held in the MAGA meme coin. This could be another cunning business move by Trump to time the presidential meme coin market. Trump is known for his shrewd business moves and using sentiment in his favor. Will he take advantage of the increased media attention and strike while it's hot?
The best articles of the week, directly delivered into your mailbox.Subscribe to our newsletter
NFTs as a fundraising tool and rewarding supporters
Trump's first two collections sold out within a day of release, generating proceeds of $4.36 million and $4.65 million. Of the first collection, 1,000 NFTs were kept in the issuing wallet, presumably to be sold for a later price increase. There is no current data on the Mug Shot Edition on Dune, but according to Trump, he was able to sell out all three of his previous collections. This would mean that the third collection alone brought in another $9.9 million, for a total of about $18.9 million for all three collections. That should explain why a fourth collection is on the way.
All collections had a mint (initial price) of $99 and were launched on the Polygon blockchain. His third edition, the Mugshot Trading Cards, comes with physical cards that contain a piece of his suit or tie that he was wearing when his mugshot was taken for his indictment on various charges in the summer of 2023. After the release of the second collection caused a sharp drop in the minimum price of the first collection due to over-saturation of the market, the main benefit of holding a Trump NFT seems to be the opportunity to attend a private dinner at Trump's Florida residence Mar-a-Lago. However, this required the purchase of 47 tickets in one transaction. A whopping $4,653. Buying 100 trading cards at once, more perks were handed out, including a limited edition of bitcoin ordinals, indicating Trump's intrinsic understanding of the crypto space.
Market reception of Trump's trading cards
The media called the NFTs a money grab that reflected poorly on the NFT industry as a whole. The collections even received negative backlash from the Republican Party. According to the BBC, Steve Bannon, a right-wing media commentator and Trump's former chief strategist, said he couldn't do it anymore and that everyone involved in the project should be fired. The fact the Melania Trump is also diligently issuing NFTs that have somewhat of a backstory does not dampen the public's reception. She supposedly was not able to sell one of her high, expensive NFTs of a fashionable hat she once wore and ended up buying it herself for $180,000.
Holders of the first collections also expressed dissatisfaction that they were not rewarded with airdrops or perks for the Mug Shot edition. Some decisions go against the general ethos of NFT, such as that holders do not have the right to freely use the NFT IP as is common in the industry. They have a limited license to the digital art and can only use it for their own personal, non-commercial use. In addition, the NFT is non-transferable until December 31, 2024.
