Trump-backed NFT collection debuts on Bitcoin’s ordinals protocol

Donald Trump’s newest foray into the digital collectibles market has begun with the launch of the “Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards.” The first 160 collection items were launched on the Bitcoin blockchain using the Ordinals protocol, a method of inscribing individual assets on satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin.

Collectors who bought 100 NFT cards from the “Mugshot Edition” and shared their Bitcoin addresses are eligible to get their Ordinals on Magic Eden, one of the leading NFT marketplaces. At the time of writing this piece, only 19 out of the 119 potential Ordinals had been created. The claim period will be valid until the 31st of January 2025.

These NFTs use “Alpha sats,” which are the first satoshis of a Bitcoin block, to give them the desired rarity and uniqueness. Already, six Ordinals themed after Trump are listed on Magic Eden, with prices starting from 0.25 BTC to 9.8 BTC.

Despite the plateau in the middle of 2024, the interest in the Ordinals market had grown towards the end of the year. Average monthly inscriptions were up to 54k-92k in December vs 13k-35k in other months according to Dune Analytics. The increasing demand shows that the Bitcoin-based NFTs have gained traction again.

Trump’s NFT legacy

This is Trump’s first NFT collection on Bitcoin’s Ordinals protocol, but he has dabbled in other NFT projects in the past. His previous series includes ‘Trump Digital Trading Cards’, which had different editions such as ‘America First’ set released in August 2024. This edition had incentives such as gold-colored sneakers and meals with Trump.

Despite the hype, pieces from the “America First” collection have not been traded yet, as evidenced by the NFT Price Floor aggregator. However, previous Trump-themed products have had rather unsteady sales in recent months.

The first collection of the Trump NFTs recorded 2,180 sales in the last 90 days, a 71.1% upswing whilst the trading volume dropped slightly by 2.35% to $330,774. On the other hand, the second edition witnessed 151% growth in sales with 4,579 transactions while the trading volume surged by 30% to hit $147,605 in the same period. The CryptoSlam analytics portal shows that despite the recent uptick in the crypto market, NFT sales are still 98% lower than they were at the start of 2022.

In related news, Telegram has also joined the NFT market fray. In the first update of 2025, the messaging platform added a new option for users to transform gifts into NFTs on the TON blockchain. Gifts, first introduced in October 2024, are animated digital goods composed of custom messages that can be posted on the user’s profile.

The update allows them to turn 20+ current gifts, such as Jelly Bunny or Santa Hat, into NFTs for Telegram Stars, the app’s in-app currency equivalent to Toncoin (TON). This feature seeks to extend the adoption of blockchain technologies to the millions of Telegram users.

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