Melania Trump is offering NFT art in an auction. But the trade raises questions.
WASHINGTON DC – The former first lady of the US got into crypto trading last year. So Melania Trump started her own website and offered auctions. By selling so-called non-fungible tokens (NFT), Trump promises an additional source of income. These are non-replaceable, digitally protected objects based on blockchain technology. One of their trades now attracted special attention.
On January 11th the auction of the “Head of State Collection, 2022” started. The package included a hat, a watercolor and an NFT. The opening bid was given by Donald Trump’s wife as $250,000. According to the website, a “portion of the proceeds from the auction” should be donated to provide foster children with access to computer technology and technology education.
Melania Trump’s NFT Collection: Bundle Sells for $170,000
According to the New York Times, after the auction closed, the triple was said to have sold for $170,000 (1800 SOL). A price that is well below the desired starting bid. Behind this, among other things, the crash of the Solana blockchain cryptocurrency is suspected. Namely, bids for the offer were only accepted in SOL.
| Melania Trump | |
|---|---|
| husband | donald trump |
| First Lady of the USA | 2017 to 2021 |
As the US magazine Vice reported, according to the Solana blockchain records, it is now clear who bought the bundle. The trade was also checked by an independent researcher, according to Vice. The former First Lady of the USA herself or at least the organizers of the auction are said to have bought the NFT collection. In a statement from her office, the former model shared that “the very nature of the blockchain protocol is completely transparent.” “Accordingly, the public can view every transaction on the blockchain. The transaction was facilitated on behalf of a third party buyer.”
ENDS TONIGHT: The “Head of State Collection” exclusive auction #MelaniaNFT pic.twitter.com/pbUCpz5uk6
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) January 25, 2022
Melania Trump NFT trade: Collection buyer unknown
Trump’s office did not go into detail about the actual buyer of the NFT collection. The question of why the transaction was designed in such a way that the creator of the NFT made the cryptocurrency available to the buyer and apparently received the money back also remained unanswered.
Public blockchains like Solana have the advantage that money can be tracked worldwide since each transaction is tied to an address. According to Vice research, the address that organized the NFT collection provided the buyer with the SOL cryptocurrency. After the auction, the amount for the collection was sent back to an address associated with the NFT creator and converted into USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
According to Vice, there could be a secret prospective buyer who had previously sent money to the organizers in the form of US dollars because he did not use cryptocurrency himself. Trump’s office did not respond to Vice’s inquiries about the identity of the buyer and exactly how the transaction took place. (cheese)
