Trump NFT prices rise after the former US president was indicted

by James · March 31, 2023

By Frances Yue

Prices of Donald Trump’s non-fungible tokens rose after a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday voted to indict the former president, marking the first time in US history that a former or sitting president will face criminal charges.

The collection of NFTs — called Trump Digital Trading Cards — featuring images of Trump in costumes like a cowboy, a basketball player and some kind of superhero saw the floor price, or the lowest price for collectibles, up more than 20% on Thursday, to as high as 0.6 ETH, or around $1,098 based on Ether’s current price, before retreating to around 0.56 ETH according to data from NFT marketplace OpenSea.

The sales volume of the NFT collection in the last 24 hours was up more than 400% from the previous day to around 107 ETH, according to data from OpenSea.

Specific charges against Trump were not immediately clear as the indictment has yet to be unsealed, but the Manhattan district attorney has alleged that Trump broke the law for his role in a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The Margin (December 2022): Trump NFTs were the ‘big announcement’ promised by the former president. They caused strong reactions – and are said to have sold out

Also (December 2022): Donald Trump’s NFT collection said to have sold out within a day of launch

Read: Why might Trump be arrested? And who is Stormy Daniels, again?

Prosecutors said in 2016 that Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen paid 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.

The NFT collection was launched in December, and Trump promoted it on his social platform Truth Social, even as crypto prices were hit hard.

The proceeds from the NFT sale will not be used to support Trump’s 2024 election campaign, according to collecttrumpcards.com, the website where the NFTs were sold.

A spokesperson for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Bitcoin traded above $28,500 on Tuesday, up 1% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. Ether is trading at around $1,832, up 2.8% in the last 24 hours.

– Frances Yue

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03-31-23 1215ET