Barely a couple of weeks ago, the former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, announced the launch of his first non-fungible token (NFT) collection on Truth Social, the social media platform he created after being banned from Twitter.
While his followers were expecting an announcement about his candidacy for the 2024 Presidential elections, Trump surprised them and the cryptocurrency world, by announcing his collection of 45,000 digital trading cards, which included one-of-a-kind pieces, generic cards, and even autographed cards inspired by his life and career.
The speed at which the Trump Digital Trading Cards collection sold out, with all NFTs finding buyers at a floor price of 0.09 ETH within the first 12 hours, was even more surprising.
Even after the initial price spike, most of the NFTs in the collection are still being sold for 0.23 ETH or more, representing a 150 percent asset appreciation.
Some NFTs, like #4128, which has a unique design and is autographed by the former President, are quoting at as high as 4,500 ETH on the NFT platform OpenSea.
Whether or not one is a fan of Donald Trump, the stunning success of his NFT collection offers valuable insights for crypto businesses and NFT artists.
The Trump NFT collection did something right
First, imagine yourself sipping a drink at Donald Trump’s luxurious private Palm Beach property while seated with other lucky winners of the Trump Sweepstakes.
Or playing a round of golf for an hour with the bold former President and two of your closest friends. Even Trump’s most vocal critics would not pass up an opportunity to interact with him in person.
And this is just one of the many reasons why the Trump Digital Trading Cards collection attracted so many NFT enthusiasts, first-time buyers, and even savvy investors.
At a time when NFT sales are declining month-on-month, the Trump NFT collection set the entry barrier so low that investors or Trump supporters did not even hesitate to apply for their Trump Digital Card.
The automatic allocation of NFTs added an extra element of excitement that was crucial to its success.
Buyers were drawn in by the chance to own the bespoke pieces, which would likely trade for much more than the $99 offer price, even though most designs are repeated with minor colour variations.
Additionally, despite granting NFT INT, a license to develop and market the NFT collection, Donald Trump does not own or have a controlling stake in the company.
NFT INT will receive 10 percent of the sales revenues, while the rest will likely go to Trump.
This is a fairly unique approach taken by the former President of the United States, who was also a vocal critic of the cryptocurrency industry.
Trump clearly knows what he is doing, regardless of any apparent contradictions.
Can NFT creators revive NFT sales by adopting the Trump formula?
Whether or not Donald Trump decides to release additional NFT collections in the future, he has certainly provided NFT creators with a success mantra for effectively marketing their next NFT projects.
The Trump NFT collection stands out from the competition by depicting memorable celebrity moments through affordable NFTs that also offer buyers the chance to meet their favourite personalities.
It is easy to see why Trump’s NFTs bucked the current bearish trend to trade as high as $650 in the days following the launch. It’s clearly the combined effect of Trump’s larger-than-life personality and his massive global following.
There is also the possibility of either Trump or the team at NFT INT having carefully analysed historical data to arrive at the $99 offer price.
Through most of 2022, NFT sales declined by around 90 percent from their peak in August 2021, and the average sales fell to $100 from a high of $2,100 recorded in February 2022.
Aspiring NFT creators can learn a valuable lesson from NFT INT and Donald Trump, who successfully navigated the market by researching current trends and pricing their NFTs accordingly.
It is impossible to predict whether the Trump NFTs will continue to trade at high prices or trend lower, but they have sparked renewed optimism in the crypto community, which is hoping for a recovery in investor interest.
Not only have the Trump NFTs provided a successful formula, but they may also inspire other notable individuals such as Elon Musk to follow suit and help revive the struggling NFT industry.