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Trump’s Crypto Epiphany: From Bitcoin Bash to NFT Enthusiast

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Crypto has left the world baffled once again with a surprising turn of events. Former President Donald Trump, renowned for his frank (and frequently peculiar) social media posts, possesses a trove of cryptocurrency valued at a staggering half a million dollars. The paradox in this disclosure is as substantial as the blockchain underpinning these virtual assets.

Trump’s financial disclosure form, spanning a jaw-dropping 82 pages, included a casual mention of a “cryptocurrency wallet (Ethereum)” with a value range that could fund a small country’s annual budget. Apparently, the ex-commander-in-chief has been quietly diversifying his portfolio in the virtual realm while the rest of us were left pondering his hair choices.

Trump’s Crypto NFT Carnival

Trump’s digital dalliance takes the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – those virtual trading cards that make even less sense than his midnight Twitter rants. These NFTs depict Trump as a superhero, cowboy, astronaut – basically any character he wasn’t during his time in the Oval Office.

These digital masterpieces were launched for a mere $99 each, because clearly, there’s no better way to make a political comeback than by selling glorified JPEGs. The sales of these tokens took off like a rocket, soaring higher than Trump’s claims of crowd sizes, until they plummeted faster than his approval ratings after his second batch flopped spectacularly. It’s almost poetic how his NFTs experienced the same rollercoaster ride as his presidency.

What’s even more entertaining than Trump’s NFT venture is his swift about-face on the topic of digital assets. The man who once proclaimed Bitcoin was “just a scam,” now holds a cryptocurrency wallet heavier than his signature golden curtain rods. His disdain for cryptocurrencies was only rivaled by his affinity for Twitter typos.

Screenshot 7
Source: X

But let’s not forget his Republican comrades who have been eagerly embracing the world of crypto like it’s a long-lost relative returning with a suitcase full of untraceable cash. While Miami’s Mayor Suarez and his ilk have been showing crypto some love, it’s Trump who’s now the unlikely poster boy for virtual wealth. A true man of the people.

In a world where politicians are known for flip-flopping faster than a fish out of water, Trump’s crypto escapade takes the cake. From condemning digital currencies to embracing NFTs, he’s proven that the only thing more volatile than his opinions are the markets he’s now invested in.

Melania Trump’s Bizarre $170,000 NFT sale

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Melania Trump reportedly sold a $170,000 NFT of a hat she wore during her meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. The NFT was eventually sold to its founders, according to blockchain data. The NFT in question is from the “Head of State Collection, 2022,” which contains “three essential one-of-a-kind signature pieces” of clothes she wore during France President Emmanuel Macron’s 2018 visit to the White House.

However, an analysis of blockchain data reveals that the account that minted the NFT delivered $473,000 in USDC to an address that subsequently changed some of the funds into 1816 Solana units. The funds were then transferred to another address, which eventually won the auction.

According to a statement provided to Motherboard, “The essence of Blockchain protocol is entirely transparent,” Trump remarked in her office. As a result, any transaction on the blockchain may be viewed by the whole public. The transaction was facilitated on behalf of a third-party buyer.”

NFTs and wash trading

The acts of Melania Trump and her staff in the crypto world are often referred to as “wash trading.”

In basic words, wash trading is frequently done to portray a misleading impression regarding an NFT asset. In wash trade, the vendor is the same individual as the buyer. The offenders transmit funds within wallets they manage to carry out the transaction and trick the people into believing there is a massive demand for the item.

Reports showed that NFT scammers had made at least $9m through wash trading.

Motherboard shared the blockchain data with pseudonymous blockchain gumshoe zachxbt, who released the following analysis showing that the NFT creator donated the crypto for the winning bid:

If we visit Solscan.io (a Solana Blockchain Explorer) we see Melania Trump’s Head of State Collection, 2022 NFT was created on 01/11/2022 by 39ui using Metaplex.

01/23/2022 – 39ui sends 473,657.64 USDC to 3CTu.

01/25/2022 – 3CTu swaps 166,900 USDC for 1,816.08 SOL using Raydium (Solana decentralized exchange). A few minutes later 3CTu sends 1,799.5 SOL to 497Z.

01/26/2022 – 497Z makes a bid on the NFT for 1,800 SOL and wins the auction.

Later that day the NFT creator 39ui claims the 1,800 SOL and sends it back to 3CTu.

01/29/2022 – 3CTu swaps 1,800 SOL for 168,313.24 USDC using Raydium.

As of 02/08/2022 all of the USDC sits in 3CTu’s account and the NFT in 497Z’s account.

Follow-up inquiries about the identity of the supposed mystery buyer, how the transaction was performed, if it was conducted in USD, and how much USD the buyer eventually paid were not answered by Melania Trump’s office.

Mrs.Trump ventures into the NFT space; Details remain hazy

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The former US first lady, Melania Trump, picks Solana blockchain to purchase her new Non Fungible Tokens(NFT). The NFT is to be paid through MoonPay, a new Start-up crypto payment infrastructure.

Mrs. Trump, took to Twitter to announce that her first NFT, a painting called, ‘Melania’s Vision’ by the artist Marc-Antoine Coulon, and an audio recording with a message of hope from the former first lady, could be purchased at 1SOL using MoonPay. This is available on her website starting from the 16 December to the 31 December 2021.

“Excited for this new venture, which combines my passion for art and commitment to helping our Nation’s children fulfill their own unique American Dream. #MelaniaNFThttp://MelaniaTrump.com“

Solana Labs and MoonPay dismiss rumors of a partnership with Trump’s NFT project

While Melania launched her NFT project, Solana Labs and MoonPay had to deal with rumors of partnering with Melania’s NFT project. Solana labs immediately stated,

“I wanted to inform you, to avoid any confusion, that her choice to use the Solana blockchain was completely organic, and this project is not part of any Solana-led initiative”

MoonPay tweeted about the same and stated that the story by Bloomberg, titled ‘MoonPay as a partner to a new NFT effort by Former First Lady Melania Trump,’ is factually incorrect and that they had no role to play in it. MoonPay is a company that helps people exchange cryptocurrencies and fiat, or government-issued currencies using major payment methods. It is used in more than 160 countries and more than 250 wallets, websites, and applications to make payments and defeat fraud.

Solana is a high-powered blockchain with an extravagant performance that supports the builders of crypto assets to create crypto applications. This altcoin has been gaining a lot of popularity. however, Ethereum is the most popularly used blockchain for NFTs.

At the time of writing, Solana was priced at $181.46 and experienced a bullish market at 2.58% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum on the other hand was priced at $3957.97 and witnessed a daily drop of 0.77%.

Donald Trump continues to despise Bitcoin as it competes with the dollar

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The former president of the United States of America, Donald Trump has been vocal about his hostility towards cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin [BTC]. Once again, Trump expressed his thoughts on the king coin, and looks like his perception of the asset hasn’t changed.

Bitcoin caught the entire globe’s attention after the asset’s market value jumped beyond $1 trillion. The price followed suit and surged to a high of $64K, while Bitcoin was currently in a slump, several have been anticipating a bull run very soon. The popularity of Bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies certainly posed a threat to several other fiat currencies. This further opened up doors to regulators across the world and urged them to be on their feet.

This wasn’t all, politicians, celebrities, as well as the highest officials of every country were seen making comments about Bitcoin. The list included, Donald Trump, however, the former president did not have nice things to say about the king coin.

Donald Trump: “Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam”

While speaking with FOX Business, Trump was asked if he invested in the stock market, as he did not like Bitcoin. While revealing that he hadn’t invested in the stock market at the moment, he went on to express his thoughts on BTC. He stated,

“Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam […] I don’t like it because it is another currency competing against the dollar. Essentially, it is a currency competing against the dollar. I want the dollar to be the currency of the world, that’s what I’ve always said.”

It seems like Trump was still holding on to the “Make America great again” narrative as he did not want anything to disrupt the dollar’s dominance.

Furthermore, Donald Trump’s administration was quite brutal to Bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies. While the regulatory environment in the crypto-verse continued to remain uncertain, the former president’s latest comments did not aid the market in any way.

Additionally, when Trump was in power, he noted that he wasn’t a big fan of BTC as its value was based on “thin air.”

Bitcoin Glorified By Jack Dorsey As He Justifies Trump’s Twitter Ban

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2021 started off on a good note for the crypto-verse as Bitcoin rose up to a high of $40K. The United States, however, was subject to extreme unrest. The world had only seen such things in movies, a few citizens of America turned reel into reality by attacking the US Capitol. While Trump was scheduled to give up his office to Joe Biden, Trump’s supporters stormed into Capitol Hill protesting Biden’s win. Several deaths and arrests later, numerous social media platforms decided to ban Trump as he was expected to insinuate and prolong the riots.

Bitcoin’s Zero Association With Any Entity Lauded By Dorsey

Just as the news of Trump’s second impeachment came through, the CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey pointed out the reasons behind this ban. Dorsey made it clear that he does not “celebrate or feel pride” in confirming the permanent ban on Trump. He affirmed that the social media platform had taken this decision after a series of warnings as well as the best information received by them.

Dorsey pointed out that Twitter’s latest action was right for the social media platform. He said,

“We faced an extraordinary and untenable circumstance, forcing us to focus all of our actions on public safety. Offline harm as a result of online speech is demonstrably real, and what drives our policy and enforcement above all.”

This was further continued by the importance of transparency. Now coming to Bitcoin, Dorsey revealed why he had “so much passion for Bitcoin”. The network’s zero dependency on centralized institutions has lured numerous individuals. Dorsey suggested that he was one among them. He tweeted

Bitcoin

Dorsey has time and again exhibited his interest in the crypto industry and aiding those who are a part of it with Square.

Bitcoin seemed to be back in action after a few retracements. During the time of writing, BTC was trading for $38,585 with a 13.31% surge in the last 24-hours. Apart from this, the global crypto market cap had found its way back to $1 trillion.

Hackers Demand Monero Through Trump’s Campaign Website

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This year, many people across the globe have been denounced by the abject pandemic. The crypto industry was also subject to immense treachery. A lot of dirt was thrown at the industry, as some fraudsters were looking bag some easy money. With the value of crypto assets hitting new heights, hackers sought Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a ransom. After India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, America’s Donald Trump is the latest to fall prey to a cryptocurrency hack.

Hackers Seek Monero

Earlier today, US President Donald Trump’s campaign website was under attack. For a period of 30 minutes, the hacker took over the website and reportedly demanded the privacy coin Monero [XMR]. A notice was issued on the site by the attackers highlighting that the globe was tired of fake news that was advertised by President Trump. The hacker further revealed that he/she had intended to deliver the truth to the world. Twitter user, Gabriel Lorenzo Greschler was one of the first to discover the attack as he tweeted,

In the notice issued on the site, the hacker alleged to have acquired passage to the “most internal and secret conversations strictly classified information” this was further accompanied by claims of gaining full access to Trump as well as his relatives.

COVID-19 was undoubtedly the highlight of this year. A microscopic virus that disrupted the ways of the entire mankind paved the way to several conjectures. While some put forward the theory of China spreading the virus to weaken the world, a few others alleged that Bill Gates was in a deal with “big pharma” to suck out profit through the death and suffering of people. However, none of these have substantial proof and the hacker was the latest one to add to the list of the already existing speculations. The notice of Trump’s website read,

“most internal and secret conversations strictly classified information is exposed proving that the trump-gov is involved in the origin of the corona virus.”

This wasn’t it, the hacker further accused Trump of manipulating the 2020 elections by joining forces with foreign actors. Leaving people high dry, the hacker suggested that he/she would reveal the truth based on the number of votes. The votes were measured through the number of Monero in the “yes” address and the “no” address.

The hackers further said,

“after the deadline we will compare the funds and execute the will of the world. In both cases we will inform you.”

The notice was removed promptly and Trump’s campaign team revealed that no information from the website was compromised.

Latest Budget Proposal By Trump May Allow The US Treasury Greater Oversight Over Crypto

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The cryptocurrency sector is ever-growing in popularity and is attracting attention from all over the world. However, there is still a significant lack of oversight of this sector in the United States. Nevertheless, this situation may be changed in the near days; principally if President Donald Trump’s latest budget proposal for the fiscal year 2021 goes all the way through.

Moreover, if the proposal manages to go through, as per some estimates the US Department of the Treasury may receive further supervision powers over the cryptocurrency sector. The new budget released on Monday constitutes $4.8 trillion and looks to move the Secret Service back to the Treasury to battle out cryptocurrency-related crimes; such as financing terrorism and money laundry.

The Secret Service to Combat Financial Crimes

In fact, the Secret Service was established back in 1865 within the Treasury to provide protection to Presidents and counter counterfeiting of currencies. However, it was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security back in 2003. The budget proposal details the new plan of action to reinforce the Treasury Department’s oversight on digital currency control. The proposal reads:

“Technological advancements in recent decades, such as cryptocurrencies and the increasing interconnectedness of the international financial marketplace, have resulted in more complex criminal organizations and revealed stronger links between financial and electronic crimes and the financing of terrorists and rogue state actors. The Budget proposes legislation to return the U.S. Secret Service to the Treasury to create new efficiencies in the investigation of these crimes and prepare the Nation to face the threats of tomorrow.”

 

In addition, this reshuffle means that Donald Trump is aiming to return the Secret Service to its original roots. He claims that tech advancements over the past decades; particularly digital currencies, on top of its interconnection between the international financial marketplace; has led to the rise of even more complex crime groups. Due to this reason, U.S. President Donald J. Trump believes it is best if the Secret Service returns to the Treasury; and fulfills its original purpose which is combating financial crimes. The document elaborates:

“These resources would enhance FinCEN’s protection of data collected under the Bank Secrecy Act, which would increase its value to law enforcement agencies, and expand its efforts to combat emerging virtual currency and cybercrime threats.”

Moving forward, most individuals doubt the proposal will go past congress. However, others highlight that it shows the priorities of the Trump administration. According to the Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin; the budget prioritizes maintaining the part that the Treasury plays towards building a strong economy in the United States. Mnuchin went on to add that this will go on to ensure financial stability not only in the U.S but also abroad.  It would also improve national security and the management of the taxpayers’ resources.

Bad Actors Misusing Digital Currencies

Furthermore, the Treasury secretary noted that the main reason for concern is the bad players who are always intending to misuse cryptocurrencies. He claimed that this is among the biggest threats to national security. The secretary believes that there is a great need for “very, very strong regulations” to guarantee that digital currencies are not as incognito as Swiss bank accounts.

 

Tron Founder Mocks Trump, and Predicts TRX Could Rally Beyond $409K

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Justin Sun spurred hot debate after posting following his Twitter post that claimed Tron(TRX) could take off towards $409,000. Without specifying a particular time frame, the Tron founder tweeted the price target in a three word plus emoji post. 

However, Sun is a popular name in the crypto community for pulling out such public stunts and other dramatics in his marketing efforts for Tron.

While the claims are not to be taken lightly given the strong composure of the ecosystem against Ethereum and other smart contracting platforms; Twitter’s blockchain community came out strongly to dismiss his prediction. 

One Twitter user, for instance, claimed that TRX is a pre-mined coin. Therefore, possesses no value but a price on the basis of pure speculation. As a result, he added, the speculative price would only drop to a value of zero once industry knowledge catches up.

Was Justin Sun Trolling President Trump?

However many would have dismissed the Tron Founder as jokingly predicting the price of Tron. Especially given that he could have been taking a jab against US President Donald Trump. 

A recent tweet by Trump had a typo that supposedly was meant to celebrate the surging performance of the US stock market. A report by USA Today stated that the president once again became the laughing stock of social media communities following his lackadaisical twitter posts. Most users terming his efforts as a desperate attempt to impress following the recent impeachment.  

Nevertheless, Trump meant to applaud the US stock market for a staggering performance at the beginning of the year.  The stock market hit a record high after an apparent trade deal with the People’s Republic of China. While Trump was out to share such good economic vows, it seemed apparent that the US and Iran could avoid the much anticipated military conflict. 

409K Instead of 401(K) Tax Pension Account

Unfortunately, the president missed a significant detail in his post. So that instead of typing the tax-qualified pension account typically referred to as the 401(K), he referred to it as the 409k. 

Typical internet commentary couldn’t forgive such an abomination and went out to troll the president. Nonetheless, Donald Trump has since pulled down the tweet and reposted with correct details. Yet this hasn’t stopped Justin Sun from mocking the president’s tweet, with such an unbelievable price target for the crypto asset. However, the twitter community did not get the joke in Sun’s tweet even after noticing that the tweet lacked the dollar sign on the 409k price target. 

The community stashed the prediction as typical Sun promotional material and ridiculed the notion of TRX ever attaining the value of half a million dollars. Some went to the extent of deeming the claims as more appropriate for the Zimbabwean dollar than Tron (TRX); Hyperinflation in recent years in Zimbabwe has rendered its currency useless. Others humoured that the digital asset could be worth 409,000 satoshis in the coming future. 

Justin Ought to Refrain from Promotional Dubs

It is not the first time that the crypto industry has advised Justin Sun to refrain from posting Tron promotional posts dubbed as price analysis and predictions. For instance, the founder’s violation of the terms and conditions of Weibo had Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao’s and Justin Sun’s accounted deleted from the platform in December last year. 

Most of the respondents to Sun’s post did not see the joke and were fast to describe Sun as childish for posting such a baseless prediction. One event went to the degree of requesting the 30-year-old to confirm his age. One commentator, for instance, told Sun: “Please delete”

Conclusion

Despite the trash back, there are those that believed in Justin Sun’s prediction. One positive respondent wrote that: 

“We believe in you and in your great [sic.] project chief… because Trx will be one of the best cryptocurrency in the world.”

 

Bitcoin ROI over the past decade trumps that of Apple, Microsoft and many more

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The Bitcoin market has always been touted as the next big thing in mainstream finance by its proponents. This has further sparked debate about the world’s largest currency’s ability to maintain a strong foothold against giants such as Amazon and Apple, whose stocks have been reaping dividends. A recent analysis, however, has shown that Bitcoin may have been the best option to invest in over the past ten years.

The survey showed that if users had invested $100 in Bitcoin at the start of the decade, their holdings would have risen to a whopping $9.2 million today. At the same time, the $100 investment in companies such as Amazon, Visa, Microsoft and JP Morgan would have earned much lesser returns.

An investor who had bought Amazon shares for $100 in 2009 would have earned just $3300 in 2019 while the same buy-in of Apple stocks would have risen to $2400.

Some companies like Walmart and Alibaba did not even breach the $500 barrier when it came to ROI. A user’s $100 in 2009 would amount to $271 in terms of Walmart stocks while Alibaba stocks would have doubled the $100 to close at $208 in 2019. J

JPMorgan was also considered on the list after the bank had plans to release its own cryptocurrency, JPMCoin. A $100 investment in the bank would have yielded $533 after a decade.

The massive disparity in Bitcoin ROI and that of other companies comes at a time when mainstream organisations have seen a resurgence in their market caps. At a time when Bitcoin was struggling to hit the $200 billion market cap point, Apple had crossed the $1 trillion market.

At press time, Bitcoin was trading for $7351 with a total market cap of $131.525 billion. The cryptocurrency held a 24-hour market volume of $17.08 billion after a 1.15 percent fall in prices over the 24-hour time frame. The cryptocurrency market has been so ruthless of late that Bitcoin was not even the most prominent victim in terms of price falls. Just a couple of days ago, the value of  Matic Network, one of Bitcoin’s rivals fell by a significant 70 percent. Matic had dropped from $0.042 to %0.013 in the matter of an hour and users were still trying to figure out what exactly caused the crumble.

Changpeng Zhao, the Chief Executive officer [CEO] of Binance, had stated:

“Our team is still investigating the data, but it’s already clear that the matic team has nothing to do with it. A number of big traders panicked, causing a cycle. Going to be a tough call on how much an exchange should interfere with people’s trading.”

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market conditions and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Binance Coin trumps again as it receives support from the popular lending platform

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Binance has seen a significant boost in its publicity after several partnerships and tie-ups. This has been spearheaded by CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao who has become the face of the company and its developments. The latest announcement from the Binance stables was related to the Binance Coin [BNB] being integrated on YouHodler, a popular cryptocurrency lending platform. YouHodler had tweeted:

“@Binance coin BNB is now integrated at YouHodler. Get a loan with $BNB, convert into $USDT or #BTC, receive up to 4.2% interest in #BNB. Want more? Wait for a contest for BNB communityStay tuned with @YouHodler.”

The platform opined that Binance’s rapid growth and use case made its case as the cryptocurrency to go to. This was also showcased by YouHodler Chief Executive Ilya Volkov, who said:

“We are happy to offer our users yet another top-10 coin that is in the midst of a large transition. BNB does a great job integrating crypto into the traditional finance world, so BNB will likely grow in importance over time and now, our users can take advantage of this.

YouHodler CEO further added,

“This is another step forward for YouHodler’s mission to turn passive Hodlers into active Hodlers through the use of our multifaceted FinTech platform.”

YouHodler also aims to become the one-stop-shop for all “cryptocurrency HODLers” and have added multiple features along with the tie-up to make it more enticing for users. People on the platform will have the option of instant cryptocurrency-backed loans using BNB tokens as a collateral.

They will also be able to convert their existing BNB tokens with Tether or Bitcoin pairs. Binance has always claimed that they believe users of the token should get a healthy return rate, and on YouHodler, the annual interest on BNB deposits will be 4.2 percent.

Binance was one of the few cryptocurrencies in the top 10 club that had a constant green rate across the 1-hour, 24-hour, and weekly charts. At press time, Binance was trading for $20.5 with a total market cap of $3.19 billion. The cryptocurrency also held a market volume of $313.25 million.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market conditions and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

Never miss our daily cryptocurrency news, price analysis, tips, and stories. Join us on Telegram | Twitter or subscribe to our weekly Newsletter.