NFT Trump Soars 462 Percent Amid Legal Cases

Donald Trump's NFT collection skyrocketed hundreds of percent. (Photo; Doc. Collect Trump Cards)

JAKARTA - Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are unique digital assets that cannot be exchanged for similar assets. NFT can be in the form of images, videos, music, or even experience. NFT has a certificate of authenticity stored on blockchain, a decentralized network that records all NFT transactions.

Salah satu koleksi NFT yang paling menarik perhatian belakang ini adalah milik mantan Presiden AS, Donald Trump. Trump telah menciptakan serangkaian NFT yang menampilkan dirinya dalam berbagai pose dan latar belakang, serta menawarkan pengalaman eksklusif seperti panggilan video Zoom atau makan bersama.

Donald Trump's NFT collection was launched in December 2022. The original goal was to raise his re-election campaign funds, but after the defeat to Joe Biden, this collection became a kind of memento item for his supporters.

However, this collection also attracted interest from speculators and NFT collectors, who saw the potential selling value of these digital assets. Some of Trump's NFTs have been sold at high prices in the secondary market, such as OpenSea, one of the largest NFT trading platforms.

According to OpenSea data, Trump's NFT collection experienced a remarkable increase in sales on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, after news of the legal charges against Trump spread. Trump was charged in 34 cases related to allegations of tax fraud, money laundering and corruption.

Within an hour of the news coming out, Trump's NFT sales increased by 462 percent, with 30 NFT items sold in a short time. In the next six hours, sales reached 47 NFT items. This is a significant jump compared to the previous daily average sales, which were only about five tokens.

One of the reasons behind this spike is speculation that Trump's NFT will become rarer and more valuable if the former president is imprisoned or expelled from politics. Some buyers may also want to have a last chance to interact with Trump through exclusive experiences offered by some NFTs.

For example, one of Trump's most popular NFTs is Trump's Digital Trade Card, which provides buyers with the opportunity to enter the lottery at a price of 99 US dollars (Rp1.4 million). The draw winner will get a Zoom group video call with Trump for 15 minutes.

This card was quickly sold out when it was first launched last December. However, some cardholders decided to resell it in the secondary market at a higher price. According to OpenSea data, the average price of this card is around US$300 (Rp4.2 million), but some cards have sold for up to US$1,000 (Rp14 million).

Trump's surge in NFT sales shows that the NFT market is still very dynamic and is affected by external factors such as news and events. Although many have criticized this collection as a form of exploitation and political propaganda, it seems that there are still many people who are interested in having a piece of digital history of this controversial former US president.