Former President Donald Trump has just disclosed financial assets to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) that range in value from $250,000 to $500,000. The ex-President’s assets, which come from a variety of sources, are revealed in this report.
The cryptocurrency community was drawn to one especially intriguing item in the filing: a “Cryptocurrency Wallet (Ethereum)” estimated to be valued between $250,000 and $500,000. These assets most likely correspond to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that Trump issued in the previous year and successfully rolled out in April.
Trump released a set of $99 playing cards featuring himself as an astronaut, cowboy, and superhero in December 2022. These cards were apparently sold out within hours of being on sale, despite being introduced amid controversy over his legal predicament. Trump’s entry into the digital art world was welcomed by many in the cryptocurrency community, but his past “controversial” comments about cryptocurrencies have alarmed others.
In only six hours in April, Trump’s second issue of 47,000 trading cards brought in $4.7 million. A significant percentage of the former president’s digital asset holdings came from his trading card series, which brought in $8.9 million in sales and around $298,000 in licensing payments.
Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, the former First Lady, has entered the NFT market and seems to share his interest in digital assets. She used famous NASA Apollo moon photos to make digital paintings that she sold for $75 apiece.
Trump’s digital asset holdings have just come to light at a time when he and several well-known Republicans have announced their plans to compete for the US president in 2024. Due of the strict crypto suggestions made by the Biden administration, the problem of digital assets has gained importance. Trump’s position on cryptocurrencies has changed, whilst other candidates, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have expressed support for Bitcoin (BTC) and condemnation of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
Trump expressed his doubts about cryptocurrencies in 2019 by tweeting that he was “not a big fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.” Later on, he changed his mind and removed the tweet. By 2021, he voiced reservations about cryptocurrencies competing with the US dollar, but his views seemed to have changed as shown by the fact that, after the success of his digital art releases, he began to hold crypto assets.
Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, shares the pro-crypto feeling by openly endorsing Bitcoin and even announcing that his campaign would accept contributions made in cryptocurrencies, underscoring the wider acceptability of digital assets.
