Trump hurtles toward crypto whale status with Ethereum wallet worth up to $5 million
Quick Take
- Former U.S. President Donald Trump owns up to $5 million worth of ether and has earned $4.9 million from NFT licensing fees, according to recent financial disclosures.
- Potential holdings are very close to the amount of crypto held by digital wallets receiving royalties from NFT collections.
Former President Donald Trump is starting to look like something of a crypto whale, with both holdings of ether and earnings from his branded NFTs growing by the minute.
The entrepreneur-turned-politician owns up to $5 million worth of ether in a wallet, according to certified 2023 financial disclosures posted online by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington yesterday. An entry that details the potential size of the holding specifically lists income of $2.8 million.
Close look at Part 3 of Trump's FEC certified 2023 financial disclosures. Source: CREW
The disclosure also shows Trump earned $4.9 million from an NFT licensing deal with NFT INT LLC, the company behind two separate NFT drops that have netted millions of dollars in sales and royalties.
New numbers show surge in activity
News reports last week first showed Trump had up to $500,000 worth of ether, citing a disclosure from April. The newer disclosures on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s website are dated from this month.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, did not immediately respond to a request for comment when asked about the most recent August disclosure.
Trump’s NFTs sold for $99, with the first drop at the end of last year and the second in April. The first series has generated more than $26 million in trading volume, according to OpenSea data.
Royalties mirror Trump's holdings
In royalties collected from secondary sales, Trump's two series of NFTs have generated $2.6 million, according to The Block Research analyst Brad Kay. The four digital wallets which receive those revenues currently hold about $3 million worth of ether, he said.
Although Trump's holding in the filing of $2.8 million is very close to the amount held in the four wallets associated with the NFT collections, NFT INT LLC states on its website for the digital trading cards that it is a separate entity.
"NFT INT LLC is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization," according to the site. "NFT INT LLC uses Donald J. Trump's name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Digital LLC."
Trump is listed as CIC Digital LLC's manager, president, secretary and treasurer, according to CREW's posted disclosures.
Trump NFT collection wallets' holdings. Source: The Block Research
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