Trump Explores Bitcoin Ordinals to Boost Controversial NFT Sales

Trump Mugshot Editions and Bitcoin Ordinals Spark Controversy

In a strategic move, former U.S. President Donald Trump is leveraging Bitcoin Ordinals to drive sales of his polarizing "Mugshot Edition" nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The team behind Trump's NFT collection recently unveiled a unique offer: users purchasing 100 or more Mugshot editions will now receive an exclusive "One-of-One" trading card as a Bitcoin Ordinal. Limited to 200 unique Ordinals, these NFTs come at a hefty price, requiring a minimum investment of $9,900. Launched on the Polygon (MATIC) network in December, the Mugshot NFTs can be acquired with credit cards or Wrapped Ether (WETH), but trading is restricted until December 2024 to discourage their use as investment vehicles.

While Trump's foray into the NFT space captures attention, the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection has set a new all-time high with a peak floor price of 19.05 ETH, equivalent to $47,000, as of January 17. Remarkably, the Penguins experienced a significant surge in just seven days, standing out in a market where other major collections, such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club, continue to witness losses. Luca Netz, the owner of the Pudgy Penguins project since April 2022, attributes the sustained growth to unconventional strategies like selling plushie toys and fostering a strong Instagram presence focused on mental health awareness.

Comparison with Mark Zuckerberg Metaverse

Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, remains committed to investing in the metaverse, despite acknowledging that the full realisation of their vision may take more than a decade. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Meta's head of global business, Nicola Mendelsohn, emphasised the cautious approach, stating that the company sees the journey toward a comprehensive metaverse taking a "good decade." Meta has invested over $47 billion through Reality Labs, the division housing VR and metaverse operations, since 2019, underlining their dedication to this futuristic vision.

In the legal realm, former OpenSea product manager Nathaniel Chastain is appealing his conviction for wire fraud and money laundering related to insider trading. Chastain's defence argues that the U.S. government failed to prove that information related to NFTs on OpenSea qualifies as property, challenging the outcome of the case.

In a surprising move, Elon Musk stirred the NFT community by removing support for NFT profile pictures on X. Introduced on January 20, 2022, the feature allowed paid subscribers to link their NFTs to Twitter profile pictures, transforming them into hexagons to signify NFT ownership. Musk's decision raises questions about the evolving relationship between social media platforms and the burgeoning NFT ecosystem.

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