New financial documents show that former U.S. President Donald Trump is an Ethereum (ETH) whale, holding $2.8 million worth of the digital asset in a cryptocurrency wallet. The documents were obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and supersede a previous filing from April that showed that the former president held between $250,001 and $500,000 in an Ethereum wallet.
The documents do not provide additional information on other contents in the wallets. However, the holding indicates a clear departure from Trump’s former anti-crypto posture. In the past, the former president has said that Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies were “based on thin air” and their value was “highly volatile.” He added: “Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”
The documents also show that Trump’s involvement in the non-fungible token (NFT) sphere has yielded considerable earnings. According to the records, he earned $4.86 million from an NFT licensing agreement between his company, CIC Digital LLC, and NFT INT LLC. Trump has been listed as his company’s manager, president, secretary, and treasurer since 2022. Through this licensing, the NFT company used his “name, likeness, and image” to release two NFT collections that garnered broad attention from the crypto community.
The first batch of the collection was launched last year to much hype and interest from his supporters. A “series 2” was launched in April. Data from Coingecko shows that while the value of the first collection has doubled to $188 as of press time, the second collection’s value is trading far below its mint value of $99.
The NFT collections are not owned, managed, or controlled by Trump, his company, or their affiliates. The website further stated that the NFTs “are not political and have nothing to do with any political campaign.”
The documents raise questions about Trump’s evolving views on cryptocurrency and NFTs. It is unclear why he has changed his stance on these assets, but it is possible that he is simply trying to capitalize on the growing popularity of NFTs. Whatever the reason, Trump’s involvement in the crypto space is sure to continue to be a source of speculation and controversy.
