To say that Donald Trump’s NFT trading cards weren’t warmly received upon their debut is something of an understatement. Critics mocked the former president as trying to capitalize on a tech bubble that had already deflated. And initial sales were, well, . . . not great.
But a funny thing happened as the former president’s legal troubles have mounted, leading up to his pleading not guilty to 34 felony charges Tuesday in a New York courthouse: His NFTs have seen a sharp rise in value.
NFTs that originally sold for 0.095 Ether (about $99 at the time) are now reselling for 0.485 Ether ($907), according to NFT Price Floor. That’s an even more remarkable rise, considering the NFTs dropped to 0.05 Ether (roughly $63.60) immediately after their release.
The current trading price is still below the spike the NFTs saw on February 14, when Trump addressed the folders marked “Classified” that were found at Mar A Largo. (Trump, at the time, said he had kept folders with classified markings at his resort but that they were empty—and, his attorney added, he used them to block blue light from a landline phone in his bedroom that kept him awake at night.) That sent average prices up to 0.6248 Ether ($1,168).
Prices spiked again after he claimed his arrest was imminent on March 19 (and lost some ground when he wasn’t arrested on the day he claimed he would be). They climbed once more following news of his indictment on March 30. The price floor has jumped 4.26% in the past 24 hours.
Overall, as of Tuesday afternoon, the NFTs have seen an 880% increase from their mint price, again according to NFT Price Floor.
CryptoSlam, meanwhile, reports that in the past 24 hours, sales of Trump NFTs have increased more than 424%, with totals topping $70,000 and some sellers seeing a profit margin of over 200%.
It’s unclear if Trump directly receives any of the royalties from the resale of his NFTs, but he did pocket an estimated $4.45 million from their initial sale. NFT INT LLC, the company that licensed Trump’s image for the cards (and gets a reported percentage of resale revenues) is something of a mystery, however.
Last December, Ken Bensinger of The New York Times tweeted the company appeared to be founded by former Trump advisor Nick Luna and current Trump lawyer John Marion—and noted that the mailing address was the same as the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Whether the people driving the renewed interest in the NFTs are collectors, drawn to the spectacle of the charges against Trump, or his avid supporters—who have shown a tendency to support and idolize him regardless of his accusers—is hard to pinpoint.
What is certain is that Trump, on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former U.S. president to ever face a criminal arraignment. The charges all stem from hush payments made in 2016 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to conceal what she alleges was an affair.
Prosecutors in New York reportedly want to start the trial in January, while Trump’s defense team is pushing for a spring case.
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