Melania Trump's Team Denies She Purchased Her Own NFT Collection, Claims It Was a 'Third-Party Buyer' The former First Lady sold her first collection of digital artwork in January.

By Emily Rella Feb 17, 2022

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Celebrities and influencers have been avidly tapping into the NFT market, and Melania Trump is no exception. In late January, the former First Lady auctioned off her first set of NFTs, titled the "The Head of State Collection," to a mystery buyer for 1,800 SOL — or Solana coin — which is roughly the equivalent of $185,000.

But according to a new report from Bloomberg, it looks like said mystery owner might be close to the source. "Transactions reviewed by Bloomberg News show that on Jan. 23, the digital wallet listed as the creator of Trump's NFT transferred 372,657 USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, to a second wallet that later sent 1,800 SOL to a third address. That third one is listed as the winner of the auction on Trump's website," the report states. "On Jan. 27, the original wallet sent 1,800 SOL back to the second wallet address, according to blockchain transactions.

Translation: The crypto used to purchase the collection, which features three artworks from her official state visit as First Lady in 2018 (the guest was French President Emmanuel Macron), originally came from the wallet that put the collection up for sale.

Trump's team addressed the claims, telling Bloomberg, "The nature of Blockchain protocol is entirely transparent. Accordingly, the public can view each transaction on the Blockchain. The transaction was facilitated on behalf of a third-party buyer."

It looks like this potential bump in the road won't stop Trump from continuing to infiltrate the NFT space. She announced Thursday morning that she would be launching the "POTUS TRUMP NFT Collection," which will consist of 10 pieces of digital artwork "highlighting iconic moments from President Trump's Administration," noting that the actual artwork for each will only to be revealed after purchase. Each NFT will cost $50, with 10,000 NFTs to be sold in total.

SOL was valued at around $96 as of early Thursday afternoon, having reached an all-time high of $206 in valuation in November 2021.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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