Former president, current presidential candidate and defendant in multiple federal and state court cases Donald Trump owns some hefty cryptocurrency holdings, new financial disclosures show.
The billionaire real estate mogul and leading Republican candidate for the 2024 election held more than $2.8 million in ethereum in a cryptocurrency wallet as of early August, according to official documents obtained by nonprofit watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on Monday.
The new documents reveal even greater crypto holdings than earlier filings. Trump disclosed holding up to $500,000 in digital assets on a government document dated April 14, CoinDesk reported earlier this week.
The Trump NFT collection, the former president's line of non-fungible token digital collectibles, earned $4.87 million in licensing fees, according to the filing. All told, he netted around $7.6 million from his crypto-related ventures, according to reports from CoinTelegraph.
Trump Turns From Skeptic To Seller
Trump was skeptical of cryptocurrency during his presidency and said he was "not a fan." He reiterated those views in August 2021, saying they "may be fake" and "potentially a disaster waiting to happen," in an interview with Fox Business.
But Trump changed his tune in December, launching a Trump NFT line with digital trading cards featuring his image.
Now, the former president aims to run against current President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, in a bid to return to the White House. However, Trump faces four indictments and 91 criminal charges from New York, Georgia and the Department of Justice.
Allegations include attempted election theft, mishandling classified documents, hush money payments and racketeering. Trump has pled not guilty to charges in three of the four indictments. He has denied wrongdoing in the Georgia case, and is expected to surrender to the court there next week.
Trump's campaign fundraising and poll popularity has increased each time new charges or indictments are announced.
Crypto Price Action
Bitcoin fell more than 4% over the past 24 hours near $27,850 late Thursday, marking its lowest level since June 21. BTC briefly reclaimed its $30,000 level last Wednesday and struggled to break above $30,000 the past three weeks. It's below its 2023 high of $31,809 from July 13. The world's largest cryptocurrency has rebounded 68.3% so far this year.
Ethereum retreated 4.7% to $1,735 Thursday afternoon, hitting its lowest price since June 19. ETH has traded below its $1,900 level since July 23. Ethereum peaked at $2,139 on April 16 — its highest level since last May — following its Shanghai-market upgrade to a proof-of-stake network on April 13. The No. 2 crypto soared 44.9% year to date.
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