Former President of the United States Donald Trump is known to have pocketed USD 250,000 to 500,000 or around Rp. 3.8-7.6 billion in assets in a cryptocurrency wallet, according to financial disclosures released last month.
The assets, listed in what Donald Trump’s disclosure calls a “crypto-currency (Ethereum) wallet”. This asset appears to be related to a pool of non-fungible tokens or NFTs, which he traded after leaving the White House.
Launching Forbes, Monday (14/8/2023), in December 2022, Trump announced that he was releasing a “limited edition collection” of 44,000 NFT representing cartoon-like trading cards featuring Trump in a variety of clothing, such as hunter camouflage, welder suit, and superhero costumes.
The USD 99 card sold out in a day. Trump and his partner, a company called NFT INC LLC, then released a second batch in April. That too was sold out.
Sales managed to earn more than USD 8.9 million. Trump also earned an estimated $298,000 in licensing fees from the venture, according to the disclosure. His wallet is kept under the same Trump entity where he collects his licensing fees, CIC Digital.
Meanwhile, there is another several hundred thousand dollars in pennies for Trump, estimated to be worth USD 2.5 billion. However, the real estate tycoon is not above making easy money, even if it requires peddling products he doesn’t particularly admire.
“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” he said on Twitter in April 2019. “Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trafficking and other. illegal activity.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission has recently taken on a more active role overseeing the broader cryptocurrency industry, going after celebrity endorsers like Kim Kardashian. However, regulatory agencies have largely avoided taking action against NFT creators and companies, meaning Trump’s NFT venture probably won’t add to his legal woes.
Trump’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. The existence of Trump’s crypto holding was previously reported by Bitcoin.com
