The revenue from Trump-branded NFTs has exceeded $8 million, with the branded DeFi project WLFI expected to generate $337 million.
Written by: Xiyou, ChainCatcher
Editor: Nianqing, ChainCatcher
On November 5 local time, the voting dust settled in the 60th U.S. presidential campaign, and who among Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will eventually enter the White House is not only the focus of the world but also a new change in the crypto world.
Since the beginning of his campaign, Trump has repeatedly expressed support for the development of cryptocurrencies. If he successfully returns to the White House, the strict regulatory policies for the crypto market in the U.S. may undergo changes, injecting new vitality into the industry. At the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Trump stated in his speech that if re-elected, he would ensure the government retains 100% of the Bitcoin it holds and would list Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S.
Trump is not only a supporter of the crypto market but also a hands-on participant. During his campaign, he received donations from crypto whales and institutions, and personally engaged in multiple crypto projects. The income from the NFTs and DeFi crypto projects he participated in through OEM branding has exceeded $10 million.
According to data from the Arkham platform, on November 5, the value of cryptocurrency assets held by Trump's wallet address was already $6.15 million. At its peak in June this year, it was as high as $25 million, with almost 1,000 Ethereum held, valued at $2.38 million.
Trump's active involvement and significant earnings in the crypto market undoubtedly bring new changes and attention to the crypto world. If Trump is elected, the implications for the crypto market would be profound.
The sales revenue from Trump NFTs has surpassed $22 million, with licensing fees generating over $8 million.
Since 2022, Trump-branded digital trading cards have released 4 series, with a cumulative NFT issuance exceeding 200,000. Based on a $99 price per card, revenue from NFT card sales alone has surpassed $22 million.
First, in December 2022, Trump released his first series of NFTs—Trump Digital Trading Cards (NFT), which were created on Polygon and themed around Trump's Cosplay images, including cartoon representations of Trump as a superhero, astronaut, race car driver, and western sheriff.
This is the first series of Trump NFTs, priced at $99 each, with a circulation of 45,000. Buyers can participate in a lottery, meet Trump, or play golf as perks. The launch of this series quickly received a warm response from the market, selling out within 18 hours, with sales reaching $4.455 million.
In addition, the trading of this NFT series in the secondary market is quite active. According to the latest data from Opensea, the number of holding addresses for this NFT series has exceeded 140,000, with a total trading volume in the secondary market of 15,859 ETH, which calculates to approximately $41.23 million at an ETH price of $2,600.
This means that the first NFT series alone generated $4.45 million in sales revenue, in addition to a 10% royalty, resulting in over $4 million in royalty income from a trading volume of over $40 million. The total revenue generated by this series of NFTs exceeds $8.5 million (including sales revenue and royalty income).
Perhaps seeing the considerable profits brought by NFTs, just 4 months after the first NFT (April 2023), the second series of Trump digital trading cards (Trump Digital Trading Cards Series 2) was officially launched. This series primarily showcases Trump's tough image in a suit, with a total issuance of 47,000, priced at $99 each, selling out in less than 5 hours, with sales reaching $4.653 million. The current floor price is 110POL ($33).
On December 23 of the same year, Trump released the third series of NFTs (Trump Digital Trading Cards MugShot Edition), still priced at $99 each. Unlike previous series, this series has a total of 100,000 cards, primarily showcasing Trump's image after his arrest. This series of NFTs brought in approximately $9.9 million in revenue.
In August of this year, the fourth series of Trump NFTs (Trump Digital Trading Cards America First Edition) went on sale. This series of NFTs is themed around Trump's suit image during the presidential debate with Biden, expressing a never-surrender political strategy, while also featuring scenes of dancing, holding Bitcoin, and standing next to a buffalo or lion, further reinforcing Trump's support for cryptocurrency.
The fourth NFT series is also priced at $99 each, and holders can receive part of the debate suit and special benefits, and can participate in the golf club dinner. The official website shows it has sold out. However, this series of NFTs cannot be transferred until January 31, 2025. According to the latest data from Opensea, the fourth NFT series has a circulation of 31,740, total sales revenue of approximately $3.14 million, and the number of holding addresses is 1,568, with a current floor price of 529POL (approximately $161.7).
To summarize, the first series of Trump NFTs was issued in December 2022, with a total of 45,000 cards (sales revenue of $4.45 million); the second series was released in April 2023, with 47,000 cards (sales revenue of $4.65 million), and both series 1 and 2 have an additional 10% royalty income; the third series, MugShot, was released in December 2023, with 100,000 cards (totaling $9.9 million); the fourth NFT series, America First, went online in August this year, with a circulation of 31,740 (profits of $3.14 million).
As of now, the revenue earned from Trump's NFT digital trading cards has exceeded $22 million.
However, the Trump series NFTs are not directly issued by him or his company, but are produced and sold by the NFT issuing company NFT International LLC (NFT INT LLC), which is authorized under a paid license to use Trump's name, likeness, and images to create digital trading cards and pays licensing fees to Trump.
According to financial data disclosed earlier this year regarding Trump's campaign, NFT INT LLC has earned $19 million through the launch of three series of Trump digital trading cards, paying Trump $7.15 million in licensing fees, while Trump's wife, Melania Trump, earned $330,000 from NFT sales.
Adding the revenue of $3.14 million from the newly launched NFT in August, to date, NFT INT LLC has earned over $22 million solely from the sale of Trump NFTs. If the NFT issuing company pays licensing fees based on revenue share, the fees paid to Trump would account for approximately 37% of the revenue ($7.15 million / $19 million), and the 4th NFT would need to pay Trump an additional $1.17 million in licensing fees ($3.14 million * 37%), meaning Trump has netted over $8 million from the NFT branding alone ($7.15 million + $1.17 million).
Since Trump entered the presidential race, the floor price of Trump series NFTs has significantly increased. As of November 5, there are two above $100. The floor price for the first series digital trading card is 450POL ($135); the second series digital trading card floor price is 110POL ($33); the floor price for the third series MugShot is unknown; the fourth NFT series (America First) is priced at 529POL (approximately $161.7).
The Trump family is expected to earn $337 million through the branded DeFi project World Liberty Financial.
If NFTs are Trump's first successful foray into the crypto market, then the DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is another significant effort publicly branded by the Trump family.
World Liberty Financial advertises itself as a project driven by members of the Donald Trump family (sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.), and has received support from Trump himself on his official Twitter multiple times. For example, before and after the sale of WLFI tokens, Trump's official X account continuously published promotional content for the sale of its tokens, leading the crypto community to view World Liberty Financial as a DeFi project personally supported by Trump.
World Liberty Financial is a DeFi protocol where users can borrow and lend cryptocurrencies, create liquidity pools, and trade using stablecoins.
On the evening of October 15, World Liberty Financial's token WLFI officially began public sale, with a total issuance of 100 billion tokens, planning to sell 20 billion tokens at a public sale price of $0.015 (equivalent to $300 million).
However, the sales results of the WLFI token after its launch fell far short of expectations, with participating funds of less than $15 million. As of November 5, 982 million WLFI tokens had been sold, generating only $14.73 million.
The main reason for this result is that the white paper released by World Liberty Financial on October 18 shows that the project utilizes Trump’s image for promotion and publicity only through authorized cooperation, and Trump himself occasionally needs to tweet promotional content for WLF and World Liberty Financial agreements. The Trump family has not personally participated in the project, appearing only in an endorsement capacity.
As a return for the authorization, the Trump family will receive 22.5 billion WLF tokens, which, based on the issuance price of $0.015, will be worth $337.5 million. In addition, the Trump family has the right to receive 75% of the net income from the agreement but is not required to bear any responsibility for WLF.
From the image of Trump on Twitter to the website and white paper, World Liberty Financial appears to be highly tied to the Trump family. However, the reality is that Trump and his family are merely brand licensing (OEM) products; they are only earning through renting out the brand, while other operators behind the scenes use the Trump family's name to operate products. Even more concerning is that the operators behind World Liberty Financial have been revealed to have code that appears to be directly copied from Dough Finance, a DeFi product that was recently hacked.
"Branding, naming, and endorsing" such business forms are not uncommon in the Trump family. Around the world, hotels or buildings named after Trump often involve collaborations through licensing and OEM. Similarly, in the crypto world, Trump issued NFTs in an OEM manner and again applied them in the crypto DeFi project World Liberty Financial. However, from the level of participation in the crypto community, even with Trump's branding, users may not necessarily buy in.
