Trump NFT prices climb as the former U.S. president faces possible arrest
The prices of Donald Trump’s nonfungible tokens have been climbing for the past few days, as the former U.S. president faces possible criminal charges in New York in connection with hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
The collection of NFTs — called Trump Digital Trading Cards — featuring imagery of Trump in costumes such as cowboy, basketball player and a sort of superhero, saw its floor price, or the lowest price for collection items, up 22% over the past seven days to around $0.55 in ether, or $983 based on the current ether price, according to data from NFT marketplace OpenSea.
The Margin (December 2022): Trump NFTs were the ‘big announcement’ promised by the former president. They drew strong reactions — and are said to have sold out.
Also (December 2022): Donald Trump’s NFT collection said to have sold out within day of launch
The total sales volume stands at around 12,959 ether, or over $23 million, according to data from OpenSea.
The NFT collection was launched in December, and Trump promoted it on his social platform Truth Social, even as crypto prices were being hit hard.
Over the weekend, Trump said his arrest could be imminent, as a New York grand jury completes its investigation into the hush-money payments made to Daniels. Trump also called on his supporters to protest a potential arrest.
Read: Why is Trump possibly getting arrested? And who is Stormy Daniels, again?
Prosecutors said in 2016 during Trump’s presidential campaign, his lawyer Michael Cohen paid adult-film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 through a shell company to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Cohen was reimbursed by Trump, whose Trump Organization recorded the payment as a legal expense.
Cohen later served prison time after pleading guilty in 2018 to federal charges, including tax evasion, and two campaign-finance violations. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, including having the extramarital encounter in the first place.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is now reportedly investigating whether Trump or the Trump Organization committed crimes when arranging the payments, according to media reports.
Proceeds from Trump NFT sales won’t be used to support Trump’s 2024 election campaign, according to collecttrumpcards.com, the website at which the NFTs were sold.
A spokesperson for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Bitcoin
BTCUSD,
is trading above $28,000 Tuesday, up 10% over the past seven days while still down about 60% from its all-time high in 2021, according to CoinDesk data.
