In the not-so-distant past, Donald Trump, former president of the US, decided to embark on a new occupation. For many, if not all, Trump appears to be a fairly successful American businessman, people have already known a lot about him even long before he entered the U.S. presidency.
Speaking of a new interest, Donald Trump started issuing his own NFT collectibles (non-fungible tokens). One might jump to the conclusion why would he want to do that? Is it just for the sake of hype before the new presidential race in the United States (indeed, he looks to run again next year), or is it just plain interest?
No matter what motivated him, the activity proved successful; the collection of cards from the ex-president quickly snapped up. As a result, Trump set out to release a second batch, which went off like hotcakes overnight.
Read on to learn more about the nature of NFTs, what exactly kind of tokens Trump is issuing, as well as why he has to do it.
What is NFT?
It would be worth saying a little bit more about what these NFTs are before we get to the nitty-gritty of the story.
NFT or a non-fungible token represents a type of token that has no counterpart, no matter how obvious it may sound.
These tokens grew quite popular among all sorts of artists. While conventional art is limited to physical limits, NFT takes off higher and transcends abstract ideas into digital reality. In this way, they become unique works of art with their own digital signature that certifies their authenticity and ownership. Each NFT is a virtual image, video, piece of music, or other form of art that has value and remains digitally unique.
Nonetheless, NFT is not a mere way of presenting art in a new perspective. What they also do is pave the way to a new world of economic opportunities for artists. Creators have a chance to sell their work directly, bypassing intermediaries and traditional art markets. Each non-fungible token features a built-in mechanism allowing artists to earn royalties on subsequent sales of their work. Doing so unlocks new sources of income and encourages creativity.
Moreover, NFTs foster a global bond between artists and collectors. Digital assets can be traded and purchased wherever in the world, and the uniqueness of each NFT generates new possibilities for trading and investing. With long-standing boundaries and barriers disappearing, the world of art is becoming more accessible and versatile for all.
However, despite all the benefits, NFTs also raise doubts and controversy. A number of questions emerge regarding energy consumption when creating and trading NFTs, along with copyright and intellectual property rights.
Similarly, experiments with VR and AR appear, with NFT holding the key to truly innovative virtual worlds and interactions with digital objects. These bring new ways for viewers to engage with the visual arts as well as create a profound emotional and intellectual experience.
All in all, NFT seamlessly blends together art, technology, and economics. It redefines the way art is created, owned and traded, by providing fresh tools and opportunities for artists and collectors.
Creating NFT is as much a creative process as traditional art. It takes talent, or at least an idea, to bring it to life with the help of various marketplaces.
Donald Trump NFT Collection: details
Given Donald Trump’s always striving to be cutting edge and innovative, he discovered the potential of NFTs back in 2022. At the time, he teamed up with a group of talented artists and programmers so he could design his own NFT collection. Combined with such an advanced technology like blockchain, these digital works of art marked the first milestone in digital art associated with a public figure of this magnitude.
His first collection of non-fungible tokens consisted of 45 cards depicting a world-class businessman wearing an array of different looks. You can actually find images of Trump in a space suit, dressed as a cowboy, and much more.
It was the former president himself who opted for a publicity stunt, spreading the word that an “important announcement” was in store for everyone. While many began to expect that he would run for president a second time, at that point the move turned out to be nothing more than a publicity campaign.
Once he saw that people expressed curiosity about this kind of tokens, Trump chooses to put out a second collection, made up of 47,000 tokens.
With the first-ever NFT collection of this kind, sales skyrocketed an astounding 860% after the launch of the second collection. It was revealed in a report by leading platform Cryptoslam, where secondary sales from the first collection, known as Trump Digital Trading Cards, hit $384,000 in a single day. Notably, during the preceding week and prior to the official announcement of the new NFT release, sales hovered between $20,000 and $40,000 daily.
A second set of digital cards portraying the former head of state was released on April 18 this year. The new tokens feature Donald Trump as the iconic rock and roll star Elvis Presley, as well as the chess king, a variety expanded by other eye-catching and evocative imagery.
With an impressive 47,000 NFTs in the latest collection, we can observe an increase of 2,000 tokens over the first release. Those who buy these 47 tokens also get a unique chance to be invited to dinner with Donald Trump at his private Mar-a-Lago villa in the Florida resort area. Of interest is that the number 47 seems to be symbolic and may indicate his ambition to become the 47th President of the United States.
The original cost of these unique “cards” remained unchanged and amounted to $99. As reported on the official website, however, all the tokens were completely sold out, highlighting their high demand from collectors and fans of Donald Trump.
Conclusion
Despite the NFT boom has cooled down a bit, people seem to keep buying and creating NFTs. Donald Trump is a prime example of the latter. Someone far removed from such trends might even start releasing them some day. Certainly, we should bear in mind that the businessman can thus warm up interest towards himself before the upcoming U.S. presidential election.