by Topline
Former President Donald Trump has released a fourth batch of the digital trading cards he says have generated millions of dollars with each launch, his latest merchandise sale—as he continues an attempt to court crypto-friendly voters ahead of November’s election.
Donald Trump on August 26, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan.(Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Trump on Tuesday announced the release of $99 “Series 4: The America First Collection” non-fungible tokens (or NFTs).
This round of cards feature Trump posing as a “sneakerhead” wearing his own line of golden shoes, wearing an Iron Man-esque suit with the title “SuperTrump” and several with the label “crypto president,” a moniker he gave himself while speaking at a tech fundraiser in June.
The release includes pricy packages that promise physical gifts to buyers: Customers who hit a minimum spend could get autographed shoes from Trump’s sneaker line, a piece of his suit from his debate with President Joe Biden and dinner with the former president, and up to 25 people who spend $24,750 (using only crypto) are promised tickets to a Trump gala in Florida next month and cocktails with the former president.
In the past, Trump has said the drops of his digital trading cards, which sell for $99 each, have generated more than $4 million in total revenue per release—though his cut isn’t clear.
The launch of the new NFT cards comes less than a week after Trump promoted an “official” cryptocurrency project using his name on Truth Social and linked to a group in the Telegram messaging app run by his sons Eric and Don Jr. called “The DeFiant Ones” (a nod to DeFi, short for decentralized finance).
The group has since been renamed “World Liberty Financial” and has almost 50,000 subscribers, though little is known about the project.
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Key Background
Trump has sold sneakers, t-shirts and other merchandise to fans for months, a push that comes as he faces a tight race against Vice President Kamala Harris, legal bills and some $450 million in civil court judgements. The new crypto project and release of more NFT trading cards are part of a larger push from Trump to court the crypto community, despite having ripped cryptocurrencies like bitcoin in the past as a “scam against the dollar.” While in the White House, Trump was openly critical of cryptocurrency and called the values of bitcoin and others “highly volatile and based on thin air.” He said in 2021 that bitcoin “just seems like a scam,” but has since reversed his position and ditched the skepticism he had for years. In May, Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party’s national convention and vowed to “stop Joe Biden’s crusade to crush crypto.” Trump met with bitcoin miners at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and said he wants all future bitcoin to be minted in the U.S. In June, he dubbed himself the “crypto president” and, in July, gave a keynote address at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, the world’s largest bitcoin conference. Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio,)is also largely seen as a pro-crypto candidate thanks to his background in venture capital and a plan he introduced in June that would overhaul how regulatory agencies police the crypto market. In addition, Trump has courted some crypto-friendly billionaire donors including Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz and Elon Musk.
Surprising Fact
Trump’s comment on Biden’s “crusade to crush crypto” came as the current administration grew stricter on cryptocurrency, taking action against several large exchanges—including Coinbase and Binance—that they allege operated illegally. Last year, the Biden administration warned Congress against tying cryptocurrency to the nation’s broader financial system and said to do so could undermine the country’s financial stability. The White House has said it is not working to harm the industry but instead wants to “ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets.”
Big Number
$100 million. That’s how much BTC Inc. CEO David Bailey told CNBC the larger crypto industry was aiming to raise to support Trump, as well as a plan to help turn out more than 5 million voters.
Tangent
Further regulation of cryptocurrency is a top issue for the industry in the 2024 election. Leading up to November, crypto companies have accounted for nearly half of all donations made by corporations this election cycle, a Public Citizen report found, and such corporations have spent more than $119 million. The money is largely being used to support pro-crypto candidates, the report found, and on “attacking crypto skeptics.”
