Data reveals Melania Trump’s NFT sale was a wash trade
( GETTY IMAGES)
Melania Trump recently sold an NFT of a hat she wore during a visit with French President Emmanuel Macron for $170,000. Blockchain data shows that the NFT ended up selling to its creators.
Melania Trump has sold her first NFT, but blockchain data shows that the NFT was sold to its creators. The NFT was minted on the Solana Blockchain as part of the series “Head of State Collection, 2022.” The winning bid was 1800 SOL, which was worth approximately $170,000 at the time of purchase.
The NFT was of a hat she wore during a visit to France with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018, and it was accompanied by a physical item. Last year, Melania Trump announced her first foray into NFTs, describing it as a combination of her
“passion for art and commitment to helping our Nation’s children fulfill their own unique American Dream.”
The following is how the transaction went down. The first address, which generated the NFT, sent roughly $473,650 USDC to an intermediary address. This intermediary address exchanged some of the USDC for just over 1,816 SOL, which was then sent to a third address, which was the one who purchased it.
Motherboard first looked into the transaction, noticing that the person who set up the auction had purchased the NFT. Interestingly, Melania Trump’s representatives told Motherboard in a statement that
“The nature of Blockchain protocol is entirely transparent. Accordingly, the public can view each transaction on the blockchain. The transaction was facilitated on behalf of a third-party buyer.”
The statement prevents saying who exactly bought the NFT, so it does not really address the issue at hand. It’s still a strange series of events, with no updates from Melania Trump’s office.
NFT popularity is still on the rise
The sale of a non-fungible token by the spouse of a former head of state is a major development. NFTs, which are reviled by some and loved by others, shows no signs of abating, and their popularity has expanded to political spheres.
While those in politics, even in the past, have avoided releasing NFTs, this may no longer be the case in the future given the current state of affairs. As things stand, NFTs are finding their way into a variety of industries and niches. For example, bids on a Julian Assange NFT have surpassed $50 million.
The music industry seems to be preparing for a revolution, as the number of related NFT platforms keeps growing. NFTs are seen as a way for artists to increase fan engagement while also increasing revenue generation. According to reports, YouTube is considering NFTs for content creators.
