The online reaction to Donald Trump’s “MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT” (emphasis his) of a series of NFT trading cards has gone pretty much as you’d expect.
Trump, on Thursday, announced the “Donald Trump Digital Trading Card” collection, a series of $99 NFT digital trading cards that feature . . . well, Trump. There’s Trump, the cowboy. Trump, the superhero. Trump, the astronaut. Trump, the Nascar driver. Trump, the . . . you get the idea.
The announcement was met with open derision by large swaths of social media, who mocked Trump’s hype of a tech bubble that has long since deflated. But, even as sales of the Trump NFTs continue to roll out, some loyalists, investors, or just plain curious collectors have already put their trading cards back on the market.
And so far, at least, demand for the Donald Trump Digital Trading Card is weaker than his recent poll numbers.
Before we get to the resale value of the cards themselves, though, it’s helpful to take a look at where the NFT marketplace stands as a whole these days.
One year ago, the total market capitalization of NFTs stood at $23 billion—a number that was higher than CarMax or Take-Two Interactive Software. Today, it sits at just $2.4 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. In the last 24 hours alone, it has lost nearly 8% of its value.
So, the logic behind launching a line of NFTs right now is already a head-scratcher. And launching a line of NFTs that look like Lensa rejects is even more curious. But how fast is the value falling?
It varies from NFT to NFT, of course, but a look at OpenSea sales shows that bids for many of the Trump cards have dropped. Take, for instance, Trump Digital Trading Card #10337, which shows the former president ripping open his shirt to show a superhero outfit (with a giant T across his chest) and the Statue of Liberty and an American flag waving in the background. Originally sold for 0.095 Ether (about $120), the best offer on it by midday Thursday stood at around 0.0565 Ether (roughly $71.89). Similar bids are offered on several other Trump NFTs.
So, while there do appear to be some fans of Trump interested in the cards, it’s not quite the pop culture moment he might have expected. Even people who have long backed Trump are expressing disappointment with the news.
Some of the value loss could be because the team behind this idea flooded the market out of the gate. There are 45,000 of these NFTs being created (compared to only 10,000 Bored Apes). Naturally, Trump and Co. get a portion of every resale, 10% to be precise.
Resale value is less important than initial funds, of course. If Trump sells all of his NFTs at their $99 list price, that nets him a quick $4.45 million—and resale royalties will see that number grow, though maybe not at the rate he had hoped. That’s still a lot better than his returns on Trump Steaks.
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