Money That Won Melania Trump NFT Came From Melania Trump's Wallet: Report
Melania Trump began an auction in January for a collection of NFTs on the Solana blockchain.
The source of funds for the winning bid in Melania Trump's first NFT auction appears to be the creators of the project themselves.
A series of blockchain transactions show that the cryptocurrency used to purchase Trump's nonfungible token came from a wallet that belongs to the entity that originally listed the project for sale. The former first lady began an auction in January for a collection of NFTs on the Solana blockchain, with art from her first official state visit in 2018.
#MelaniaNFT @ https://t.co/XJN18tMllgpic.twitter.com/M6d1SEjyaz
Trump listed the winner of the auction on her website, along with the bid history that shows the NFT sold for 1,800 SOL (now worth about $185,000) three weeks ago. The collection, titled “Head Of State,” was one of many planned auctions Trump said she would release at “regular intervals” when she announced the launch of a her NFT venture in December.
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.
On January 27, the original wallet sent 1,800 SOL back to the second wallet address, according to blockchain transactions. The record of transactions was earlier reported by Vice.
In a statement, the Office of Melania Trump said, “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.”
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