Former President Donald Trump has reportedly earned between $100,001 and $1 million from sales of Trump-branded digital collectibles in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), per a U.S. Office of Government Ethics filing submitted on Friday.
The filing — first reported by watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) — also shows that Trump is the “manager, president, secretary, and treasurer” at CIC Digital and CIC Ventures.
CIC Digital granted the right to NFT INT, the company responsible for the NFT project, to use Trump’s name, image and likeness through a paid licensing agreement.
In addition to the NFT sales, NFT INT has acquired over $5 million from speaking engagements.
Sweepstakes for Trump NFT collectors
In December last year, 45,000 digital trading card collectibles featuring pictures of the 45th president were launched and minted on the Polygon blockchain. It was sold out within a day.
The NFT collection showcases Trump in various iconic poses and situations, such as a muscle-bound wrestling champion, holding a basketball and even in space.
“These limited edition cards feature amazing ART of my Life & Career!” said Trump, who claimed that the cards “would make a great Christmas gift.”
The collectibles quickly became a hit among Trump’s supporters since collectors who purchased one or more NFTs would automatically enter a “sweepstakes” to win “experiences” with Trump.
CoinDesk reported that a video chat, a cocktail hour at the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago resort and dinner in Miami are among the prizes.
Over the past few weeks, the collection’s floor price has fluctuated quite a few times due to Trump’s indictment. In February, it reached an all-time high of $1,079. Its floor price dropped to $1,023 per March 31.
OpenSea data reveal that 65 percent of NFT collectors have only one NFT, while 23 percent own between two and three. There are also several wallets holding over 100 NFTs.
The highest bid for a Trump NFT is currently at 10 ETH ($20,000), with most bids ranging around 0.3 ETH ($630).
The Trump NFT project has generated $19 million in sales so far, but active wallets holding the NFTs decreased by 13 percent to 208 in the last week, as per on-chain data from NFT data aggregator CryptoSlam.
Controversies over Trump NFTs
The Trading Card Website states none of the money earned from the collection will go directly to Trump’s reelection campaign. However, reports indicate that Trump has been able to take a significant portion of the earnings personally.
Serial entrepreneur Bill Zanker, who co-wrote a book with the former president, has promised to “share a significant portion of any revenues from sales” with Trump in relation to the NFT project, as reported by The New York Times.
Twitter users and crypto enthusiasts are investigating the financial links to the Trump NFT project, uncovering potential art theft and suspicious wallet addresses.
They found several inconsistencies within the collection, including the hoarding of a large number of NFTs, reliance on stock imagery and buyers opening wallets without holding any cryptocurrency.
In addition, although the Trump NFT project’s LLC is registered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, its listed address is a UPS Store in Park City, Utah. Journalist Kurt Eichenwald investigated and discovered that the LLC registered in Wyoming had links to past controversies involving shell companies and global scandals.
A “Donald Trump Admin” reportedly placed 1,000 NFTs into a Gnosis Safe Wallet that were unavailable to the public. The wallet is a multi-signature smart contract wallet, meaning that asset movement requires approval from multiple users. The nature of these NFTs remains unclear.
