You’ve probably seen the headlines: Donald Trump, the former president who once called crypto a “scam,” is now a major player in the digital asset world.
Confused? You’re not alone. Let’s break down exactly what crypto Trump owns and how he got it.
The Quick Answer (TL;DR)
Yes, Donald Trump owns millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. The vast majority of it is Ethereum (ETH), which he earned as royalties from his popular NFT collections.
He didn’t buy it on an exchange like most people. He earned it by selling digital trading cards of himself.
How Did He Get All This Crypto? The NFT Goldmine
Trump’s entry into crypto wasn’t as an investor, but as a businessman. It all started with his NFT (Non-Fungible Token) collections.
- Series 1 Digital Trading Cards (Dec 2022): Trump launched a collection of 45,000 digital cards depicting him as a superhero, astronaut, cowboy, etc. They sold out in less than a day for $99 each.
- Series 2 (April 2023): He released a second, similar collection that also sold out quickly.
- “Mugshot Edition” (Dec 2023): Capitalizing on his Georgia indictment, he released a “Mugshot Edition” NFT, with some cards digitally “signed” by him.
Every time these NFTs are bought or sold on a secondary market (like OpenSea), a small royalty fee (usually around 10%) automatically goes to the creator’s wallet. For Trump, these small fees have added up to millions.
So, What’s in the “Trump Wallet”?
Crypto transactions are public. Blockchain analytics firms like Arkham Intelligence have identified a wallet that receives the royalty payments from these NFT sales.
Here’s a look at its main holdings (note: values change constantly!):
- Ethereum (ETH): This is the big one. The wallet holds thousands of ETH tokens, often valued at several million dollars. This is the main currency of the NFT world.
- Wrapped Ether (WETH): This is basically just a version of Ethereum used on certain platforms. Think of it like a casino chip you trade for cash. He holds a significant amount of this, too.
- TRUMP Coin (MAGA): Here’s where it gets interesting. The wallet also holds millions of dollars worth of a meme coin called TRUMP. Important: This is a fan-created coin that Trump did not create himself. It was likely sent to his wallet by the coin’s developers as a marketing stunt, but its value has skyrocketed, adding millions to his on-paper crypto net worth.
As of early 2024, the total value of the crypto in this associated wallet has fluctuated wildly, often sitting between $5 million and $10 million.
From Crypto Critic to Crypto Kingpin
This is the most fascinating part of the story. For years, Trump was publicly against crypto.
- In 2019, he tweeted he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.”
- In 2021, he called Bitcoin a “scam” and said it was “a disaster waiting to happen.”
So what changed? It seems to be a classic case of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” The NFT market presented a massive, untapped fundraising and business opportunity that was too good to ignore. He found a way to profit from the crypto world without having to endorse Bitcoin directly.
The Bottom Line
Let’s boil it all down.
- Yes, Trump owns crypto. A lot of it.
- His main holding is Ethereum (ETH).
- He acquired it through royalty fees from his NFT collections, not by personally investing.
- His associated crypto wallet is worth millions of dollars, a value that changes daily.
- He has shifted from a vocal crypto-critic to an active participant, showing a pragmatic approach to a booming market.
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