The ex-President of the United States has re-entered the digital realm on X, formerly known as Twitter, marking his first appearance since January 2021. He shared his mugshot, which has since evolved into a wellspring of memes produced by diverse users. Subsequently, Trump’s NFT collection has experienced a rapid rise in price.
This spike follows the unveiling of a photograph featuring the former president in connection with his legal case in Georgia, where he faces accusations of trying to compromise the integrity of the 2020 election and manipulate voter sentiment.
Data gleaned from the NFT marketplace OpenSea reveals a substantial surge in the minimum price of Trump’s digital trading card collection, originally introduced in December 2022. The value increased by over 62%, ascending from 0.138 to 0.224 Ether (ETH), equating to $1,654 on August 24. This upswing aligned with the public release of the ex-president’s mugshot. The image, depicting Trump’s resolute demeanor during his surrender at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, swiftly went viral as the inaugural mugshot of a current or former U.S. president confronting criminal charges.
Breaking his two-year silence on the platform, Donald Trump, who had primarily utilized his self-established Truth Social platform post his suspension from X (then Twitter) in January 2021, posted his mugshot.
The criminal case in Georgia alleges that Trump and 18 associates engaged in a racketeering scheme aimed at manipulating voter preferences, with the goal of securing his reelection as U.S. president in 2020, despite his loss to Joe Biden. The indictment was unveiled on August 14, with all implicated parties instructed to surrender to Georgia authorities before August 25.
Trump made his appearance on August 24 and was released on a $200,000 bond. Nonetheless, he still confronts federal charges in the District of Columbia for his purported role in an endeavor to overturn the 2020 presidential election results by manipulating counterfeit electors. Furthermore, he faces charges in a classified documents case initiated by the Justice Department and a New York criminal case linked to falsification of business records related to a payment to Stormy Daniels, a porn star.
While expressing skepticism about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and others and asserting they were “based on thin air,” Trump was found to possess more than $2.8 million in an Ethereum wallet, as disclosed by the nonprofit organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
During his term, President Biden initiated measures to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets through an executive order. However, his approach garnered criticism from various legislators and industry participants. In the aftermath of the public release of Trump’s mugshot, users on X swiftly capitalized on the opportunity, creating memes by adding laser eyes to the image and undertaking other modifications.
Despite emerging as the leading contender for the Republican Party’s nomination in the 2024 presidential election by a substantial margin, Trump did not join other candidates in the initial party debate on August 23. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, considered the primary Republican candidate following Trump based on numerous polls, pledged to outlaw central bank digital currencies if elected. Vivek Ramaswamy, who gained significant online attention due to his debate performance, formerly addressed the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami and characterized the 2024 election as a “referendum on fiat currency.”
