The Recent Surge In Trump NFTs Explained
The recent surge in Trump NFTs can likely be explained by Trump’s arrest, but does that mean they’re a good investment? First, let’s overview the concept of NFTs then do a deeper dive on President Trump’s NFT collection.
What are NFTs?
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a type of digital asset that represents ownership of a unique item which could be including but not limited to a collectible, virtual real estate, domain name or an artwork such as digital art, videos, music, or other media. Built using blockchain technology, NFTs allow for transparent, secure, and verifiable transactions. As the ownership can be traced and verified on the blockchain, it makes it almost impossible to counterfeit an NFT.
Just as the name suggests, NFTs are ‘non-fungible’ which means they aren’t interchangeable and each NFT is unique and derives its own value based on its rarity and perceived cultural or artistic significance. With the popularity of blockchain technology, NFTs are attracting significant traction as the NFT market is expected to grow to over $126 billion by 2027.
NFTs have become the talk of the town as of late; as artists, influencers and other celebrities have started using them for monetization of their digital content and providing unique ownership experiences to their fans such as exclusive content and rewards.
Recently Snoop Dogg launched one of the most successful NFT projects in music history which has generated $44 million in revenue so far. Other examples include Grimes, who sold her digital artwork for $6m, and Shawn Mendes, whose NFT collection made more than $1m in sales just 10 minutes after the launch.
What are Trump NFTs?
In December 2022, America’s 45th President Donald Trump announced himself on the NFT space by launching his own NFT collection named “Trump Digital Trading Cards” making him the first major US politician to jump on to the NFT bandwagon.
45,000 Trump Digital Trading Cards were minted on the Polygon blockchain with a price of $99 each. Although the project attracted reproval by Trump critics and supporters alike, it turned out to be a massive success. All 45,000 Trading Cards were sold out within 12 hours of the launch, generating $4.45 million just from the primary sale.
The collection’s creators also earn 10% off every sale on secondary markets such as Open Sea. On the day of the launch, the cheapest Donald Trump Trading Cards were being sold more than six times their original price of $99. As of now, total volume of the Trump Digital Trading Cards on Open Sea is around 13,500 Eth which means that the creators have earned an extra 1,350 Eth which is approximately $2.5 million according to today’s price.
The purchase of Trump Digital Trading Cards enters the buyer into a sweepstake to win prizes such as a one-on-one meeting with the former president at Mar-a-Lago, Hand Signed Memorabilia, zoom call sessions, and much more. Those who hold over 45 Trump Trading Cards, are guaranteed to get a ticket to meet him at a dinner gala at Florida.
NFT INT, the company behind the project announced on its website that the money raised won’t be used to fund Trump’s 2024 election campaign and that NFT INT isn’t owned by Trump or any of his companies. Although, Trump makes money through licensing his name, image, and likeness for the project.
On 31st March news related to Donald Trump’s indictment by a New York jury breathed life into the roller-coaster journey of the project. The Trump Trading Cards sales skyrocketed making the mostly dormant project a hot seller once again. Trump became the first former or current US president to face criminal charges as according to reports, he faces more than 30 counts related to fraudulent business activities in the indictment.
Did Trump’s arrest change the price of TrumpNFTs?
News regarding Trump’s indictment turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the project as the price floor – which is the price of the cheapest NFT in the collection – rallied 24% over the day to $1,023 while it fell just short of reaching the all-time high level of $1,079 from February.
During this period, sales climbed dramatically as CryptoSlam reported $184,000 worth of Trump NFT sales along with a 404% surge in secondary trading volume on sites such as Open Sea. The crypto space initially took the news with a lot of wariness, but the attention became difficult to be ignored as the Trump Digital Trading Cards briefly topped the sales charts.
The frenzy wasn’t over as on 5th April, in the hour after Donald Trump was arrested, Open Sea data depicted a 462% surge in sales as 30 Trump Digital Trading Cards were sold in the hour after his court appearance and 47 were sold over the six-hour period.
While this was a significant increase in activity, it’s relatively small for the NFT space as the chart topping NFT collection Nakamigos had 1,286 sales during the same six-hour period. According to CryptoSlam data, the Trump NFT collection also saw a 220% increase in secondary trading volume over the past 24 hours since his arrest as sales of around $75,000 worth of Trump Digital Trading Cards were recorded.
During the same time frame, the number of sales transactions shot up by 193% to 85 transactions and a 125% increase in number of buyers was witnessed. As a consequence of rising sales volumes, the floor price of the Trump NFT collection rallied 4.3% to 0.47 Eth which equates to around $908 at current prices. The marketcap of the NTF collection also showcased a similar trend as it surged by 7% to 21,500 Eth on 5th April.
Should you buy Trump NFTs?
Since its launch, the monthly sales of the project have seen a fairly inconsistent trend as they were $10 million in December, $2.6 million in January, $4 million in February and finally fell to $2 million in March. The floor price of Trump Digital Trading Cards has shown volatility: falling from February highs of 0.62 Eth to 0.39 Eth as of today. However, banking on Trump’s return to mainstream visibility as 2024 US general elections approach nearer and the recent bullish trend in the price of Bitcoin as it touches $30,000, the project is a good investment as these catalysts enable Trump NFTs to display significant up-side potential in the near to medium term.
If you can handle a roller-coaster investment, these NFTs may be for you. If you prefer safer investments, you may want to check out some recession-proof stocks instead.
