Former President Donald Trump is facing a new accusation this week- allegedly rugging his NFT holders. The controversial billionaire took to social media yesterday to announce the release of the Series 2 Trump Digital Trading Cards, creating massive losses for holders of his original NFT collection in the process. What happened after the announcement?
Love him or hate him, you have to admit that the new series of Trump NFTs are kind of hilarious
Image Credit: CollectTrumpCards.com
What Happened with Second Donald Trump NFT Collection?
The new collection minted 47,000 NFTs on Layer 2 blockchain Polygon. Like the first release, Buyers had the option of using cryptocurrency or credit cards to purchase the NFTs. Not surprisingly, the new series of trading cards sold out within hours. Collectors rushed to pay $99 per NFT for the opportunity to own a digital card and “celebrate the life and career of President Donald Trump”.
Trump also offered utility with the cards based on quantities purchased. Holders with 47 cards or more would gain access to a Gala Dinner with the President hosted somewhere in South Florida. The Trump team has yet to announce details about the Gala Dinner, however.
Trump Digital Trading Cards are the first official NFT collection by any US President
Why Were Some People Mad About the Release?
The surprise announcement caught many people off guard. By stealth dropping the new series, the team behind the project more than doubled the supply of Trump NFTs. Additionally, within hours of the news breaking, the floor of the original collection fell 75% from over .4 ETH to under .1 ETH.
Predictably, the former President seems unperturbed. He wrote, “I hope everyone notices, I’m sure the fake news won’t, that I’m leaving the price of the trading cards the same as last time, even though they are selling for many times more (it’s called the market!), sold out almost immediately, because I want my fans and supporters to make money, and have fun doing it. I could have raised the price much higher, and I believe it still would have sold well, with a lot more money coming to me, but I didn’t choose to do so. I will be given no ‘nice guy’ credit?”
Investing in NFTs is risky. Prices go up, and most of the time, go right back down. However, teams don’t owe anything to holders. Oftentimes, these projects will put profit ahead of creating value for their communities. Unfortunately, Trump NFT holders learned this lesson the hard way this week.
