Donald Trump Holds Up To $500K in Cryptocurrency After Once Saying Its Value Is ‘Based on Thin Air’

Former US President and 2024 Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, holds up to $500k worth of Ethereum despite having been openly skeptical about digital assets in the past.

His crypto holdings were revealed in a filing submitted to the Office of Government Ethics, which includes a listing of assets and other sources of income belonging to the former president.

The document indicates that Trump has a “cryptocurrency wallet (Ethereum)” whose value is between $250,000 and $500,000. The cryptocurrency wallet in reference is probably related to the former president’s non-fungible token (NFT) collection, which was launched in December 2022.

Financial records show that former U.S. President Donald Trump holds an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 worth of crypto wallet(Ethereum). Trump has previously publicly criticized cryptocurrencies but also released NFT collection cards, from which he is expected to earn between… pic.twitter.com/f2lIH68tMz

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 12, 2023

The collection consisted of a total of 44,000 trading cards, starring images of Trump in various stances as a superhero, cowboy, or astronaut. The collection was a massive success given that it sold out in just one day for $99 a piece leading to the creation and release of another collection in April this year.

In total, these collections brought in almost $8.9 million in revenue. In addition to that, Trump earned license payments amounting to about $298,000. Since licensing fees are commonly paid in Ethereum, the wallet that was used to hold the licensing payments and the earnings are the same.

Trump Not a Bitcoin Fan

The discovery came despite Trump having previously declared on Twitter, now X, that he is  “not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.”

“Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity,” he added.

…and International. We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States Dollar!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019

However, according to Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former communications director at the White House, Trump may not have authored that tweet himself.

Regardless, the former president explicitly stated in a June 2021 interview with Fox Business that Bitcoin, the earliest and most popular cryptocurrency, “just feels like a scam,” after he lost the 2020 re-election. He made it clear that he preferred fiat currency over crypto, and that he lacked faith in crypto’s source of value.

“I don’t like it, because it’s another currency competing against the dollar. I want the dollar to be the currency of the world. That’s what I’ve always said,” Trump said to Fox’s Stuart Varney, according to Decrypt.

Some Republicans Supporting Crypto

However, given that the Ethereum he holds was derived from his NFT venture, it may not indicate a change of heart concerning cryptocurrencies. Other members of the Republican party are supportive of the crypto industry.

Since gaining control of Congress, Republicans in the House and Senate have sought to introduce new laws that would regulate cryptocurrencies. The sector has praised these efforts, despite some reservations.

Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, for instance, have shown their support for the use of cryptocurrencies. Ron DeSantis, the candidate for governor of Florida, has similarly pledged to put an end to the Biden administration’s “war on Bitcoin” if elected.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announces that his presidential campaign will officially accept donations in Bitcoin. This move aligns with his vision of leveraging technology for democratizing wealth creation. Suarez has been a vocal advocate for digital assets and has previously…

— Crypto Insights (@ahmedzein12) August 6, 2023

Notably, in opinion polls, every one of these contenders is still far behind Trump.

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