Trump Cashes Out $2.4 Million Worth of Ethereum Amid Crypto Market Crash

Former US President Donald Trump has sold a large portion of his cryptocurrency holdings, according to a report by Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain research firm. The report claims that Trump liquidated about $2.4 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) from his crypto wallet on October 22, 2023, just a day before the crypto market experienced a major crash.

Trump’s Crypto Wallet Revealed by Arkham Intelligence

Arkham Intelligence said it discovered Trump’s crypto wallet address on the Ethereum blockchain, after analyzing his financial disclosures and his non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The wallet address is 0x94845333028B1204Fbe14E1278Fd4Adde46B22ce, and it currently holds about $400,000 worth of ETH, wETH, MATIC, and USDC stablecoin.

The report also revealed that Trump had earned nearly $5 million from licensing fees for his NFTs, which he launched last year under the name Trump Digital Collectible Cards. The NFTs featured images of himself in various scenarios, such as being defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, or being naked and muscular in hell. The NFTs were sold out on the Nifty Gateway platform, and some of them have been resold for millions of dollars.

Trump’s Crypto Sell-Off Coincided with Market Crash

According to Arkham Intelligence, Trump sold about 6,000 ETH from his wallet on October 22, 2023, when the price of ETH was around $400. The next day, the crypto market witnessed a massive sell-off, triggered by a series of negative news and events, such as China’s crackdown on crypto mining and trading, the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, and the hack of KuCoin, a major crypto exchange. The price of ETH dropped by more than 20% in a single day, reaching a low of $315.

Arkham Intelligence speculated that Trump might have had insider information or foresight about the market crash, and decided to cash out his crypto before the prices plummeted. The report also suggested that Trump might have been influenced by his negative views on crypto, which he expressed when he was president. In 2019, Trump tweeted that he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies”, and that they were “not money” and “based on thin air”.

Trump’s Crypto Holdings Contradict His Public Stance

The revelation of Trump’s crypto wallet and NFTs has surprised many in the crypto community, as it contradicts his public stance on crypto and digital assets. Trump has been a vocal critic of crypto, and has advocated for a strong US dollar as the global reserve currency. He has also opposed the idea of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which are being developed by many countries, including China and the US.

However, Trump’s crypto holdings also show that he is not immune to the allure of crypto and its potential to generate profits and popularity. His NFTs have been a successful venture, attracting both fans and critics, and creating a new source of income for him. His crypto sell-off also demonstrates that he is a savvy investor, who knows how to time the market and avoid losses.