Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced his intention to ensure cryptocurrency donations are accepted for his campaign donations.
Trump is the Republican candidate for the upcoming U.S. presidential election scheduled for November 2024.
Trump Pushes for Crypto Donations
In various video clips posted to X by Frank Degods, a non-fungible token creator and influencer, Trump addressed his NFT buyers during a gathering where he met those who purchased his “Mugshot Edition” collection on his day off from trial.
The attendees had acquired over 47 NFTs individually, each priced at $99. In his speech, Trump mentioned, “We did it when NFTs were not hot. We made NFTs hot again.”
BREAKING: DONALD TRUMP ASKED “CAN WE DONATE USING CRYPTO?”
“IF YOU CANT, I’LL MAKE SURE YOU CAN” pic.twitter.com/Nm2YjqxwSI
— Frank (33.3%) (@frankdegods) May 9, 2024
Regarding his campaign, Trump said if his followers cannot donate using crypto, he’ll ensure they can. Trump also retorted on President Joe Biden’s supposed lack of understanding of crypto. Hence, crypto supporters should vote for him instead.
When asked about the prospect of retaining crypto businesses in the United States, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to do so. He emphasized that if crypto companies are looking to relocate due to hostility towards the sector, he will work on preventing their departure. He added that if crypto was to be embraced, it must remain in the country.
The “Jeo Boden” meme coin, a playful token inspired by U.S. President Joe Biden, surged by over 45% as per CoinGecko data after Trump mentioned the token.
After learning that the BODEN token hit a market cap of $240 million, Trump expressed his skepticism. He said it was a lot of money for a coin, adding that he didn’t like the investment.
Trump’s Evolving Support for Crypto
Electric Capital co-founder Avichal Garg has expressed his admiration for what he perceives as an evolution in Trump’s stance on crypto. Garg commended whoever was advising him on it was doing an exceptional job. Garg added that if President Biden maintains an anti-crypto stance, crypto sentiment might shift from being anti-Gary Gensler, the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to anti-Biden and even anti-Democrats.
In late 2022, Trump acquired his first crypto tokens after launching the Trump Digital Trading Cards non-fungible token (NFT) collection. This project leveraged Trump’s identity, likeness, and branding to distribute 45,000 NFTs, each priced at $99.
Trump gained royalties from the initial sale and a percentage from trading volumes on the secondary market. The project has had much success relative to the broader NFT market, with the floor price currently exceeding $200.