Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently revealed that the success of his NFT collections played a key role in changing his previously negative stance on cryptocurrency. During the World Liberty Financial launch event, hosted by Decrypt’s sister company Rug Radio, Trump credited the popularity of his Ethereum-based NFTs with helping him understand the potential of digital assets like Bitcoin.
Initially, Trump admitted that he wasn’t interested in crypto and had even criticized Bitcoin during his presidency, referring to it as a “scam” in 2021. However, his opinion shifted after seeing that a majority of his NFT sales were paid for with cryptocurrency. Trump launched his first NFT collection in December 2022 on the Ethereum scaling network Polygon, which quickly sold out, and he has since released three additional collections.
At the event, Trump shared his surprise at the number of people using cryptocurrency to buy his NFTs. He mentioned that if the transactions had been in dollars, it wouldn’t have stood out to him, but the heavy use of crypto grabbed his attention and shifted his perspective. “It opened my eyes,” Trump said, acknowledging that his children, particularly his youngest son Barron, were instrumental in shaping his understanding of cryptocurrency.
Trump also highlighted Barron’s knowledge of cryptocurrency, pointing out that at just 18 years old, he already manages multiple digital wallets. Trump likened the crypto industry to a rapidly growing business, stating that while it is still in its early stages, it has the potential to become “something special.”
Trump’s newfound respect for the crypto space marks a stark contrast from his earlier skepticism, with his NFT ventures serving as a catalyst for this shift in perspective.