Bitcoin continues to trade below $60,000 following Wednesday's CPI report. Analysts generally expect bitcoin's price to remain rangebound through the election. Meanwhile, new campaign filings show former President Trump holds over $3 million in various cryptocurrencies and raked in millions from his line of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Trump Crypto Holdings
Trump's assets and income filings listed $1 million to $5 million in a ethereum cryptocurrency wallet, according to an Aug. 15 filing with the United States Office Of Government Ethics that was obtained by Citizens for Ethics. The income documents were last updated on Feb. 9.
Although Trump's filing does not list exact figures for his crypto holdings, research firm Arkham Intelligence reports that the wallet holds $3.6 million in various cryptocurrencies.
According to Arkham, Trump holds 492.5 ethereum worth about $1.29 million at the time of the report, as well as 377.465 wrapped ethereum tokens worth $989,500. The wallet holds around $136,290 in the stablecoin USDC.
Trump also owns various Trump-themed cryptocurrencies, including MAGA Again (MAGAA), Fight to MAGA (FIGHT), MAGA VP (MVP), MAGA Hat (MAGA), BabyTrump and more that reference him. It is unclear if any of the Trump-themed cryptos are actually tied to the former president.
The largest holding of the bunch was $132,760 in MAGAA, while the rest of the Trump alt-coin holdings were less than $50,000. The wallet also includes a slew of other meme-coins, which are trading close to $0, according to Arkham.
Two of the largest holdings in the wallet are alt-coins Trog (TROG) and Gua (GUA) at roughly $370,210 and $339,420 worth of tokens, respectively.
The Trump Organization plans to launch a new cryptocurrency initiative in the coming weeks, Eric Trump told the New York Post on Wednesday.
Trump NFTs
Trump also received $7.15 million from a licensing deal with a firm NFT INT. In December 2022, Trump launched his line of Trump Digital Trading Cards, which have generated a total trading volume of 15,808 ethereum, according to OpenSea data. However, the creator of the NFTs in March pulled them from OpenSea and made them non-transferrable until Dec. 31, 2024, Newsweek reported. An OpenSea source told Newsweek that secondary market buying and selling is disabled until that date.
But more Trump NFTs could be coming soon. Trump in a July 16 interview with Bloomberg teased at releasing a fourth NFT collection of Trump Digital Trading Cards.
Former first lady Melania Trump received $330,607 through a license agreement with Designers Manager for the sale of NFTs. Melania's assets and income also listed MKT World LLC, a Palm Beach, Florida-based company set up to enter various agreements for speaking engagements and the sale of NFTs. The listing did not include an value or income for MKT World at the time, but it does hint at potential plans for future NFT launches.
Bitcoin Outlook
Meanwhile, analysts generally expect bitcoin's price to hold in its current range through the November election. But a win for Trump could provide a price boost.
Alex Thorn, head of research for crypto asset manager Galaxy Digital Holdings, expects bitcoin will trade between $50,000 and $70,000 through November, barring any major surprises, MarketWatch reported. Macroeconomic conditions, presidential election updates, and bankruptcy repayments from crypto exchanges FTX and Mt. Gox will dictate crypto prices over the next few months, according to Thorn.
On Aug. 8, a U.S. court ordered crypto exchange FTX to pay $12.7 billion in relief to customers following a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Market Rebellion co-founder Jon Najarian forecasts bitcoin could trade around $85,000 by the end of the year if Trump wins the election, according to a roundtable with The Street.
The late-start candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris just began rolling out a defined policy platform on Friday. While nothing firm yet has been set out as to cryptocurrencies, Harris has reportedly received increasing pressure from tech-savvy Democrats to craft policies friendly to both crypto-related financing and voter engagement.
Policies under President Biden-appointed Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler have been cautious and contentious.
As a result, many view Trump and running mate J.D. Vance as the much more crypto-friendly ticket. Earlier this summer, Trump expressed a desire for the remaining bitcoin to be mined in the U.S. However, experts say it would be impossible to completely nationalize bitcoin due to its decentralized nature.
David Gokhshtein, founder of Gokhshtein Media, estimates that bitcoin could rise between $80,000 and $85,000 in the event of a Trump win, with a lower bound of the range at $70,000.
Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin surged more than 3% over the last 24 hours to trade around $58,900 Friday. The price of bitcoin rallied 40% in 2024, but has fallen from its March 14 record high of $73,798.
Ethereum advanced more than 2% Friday to approach $2,590. The No.2 crypto has pared its 2024 gains to 13%.
Bitcoin mining stocks and spot bitcoin ETFs broadly swung higher as crypto prices climbed. Coinbase gained 2.7%.
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