Trump Cashes Out ETH from NFTs, Bitcoin Ordinals Stir Debate, and Ethereum's NFT Dominance Fades
Summary:
Ex-US President Donald Trump is reportedly liquidating Ethereum (ETH) accumulated from his NFT sales, with over $2.4 million value of ETH transferred to Coinbase. The Bitcoin Ordinals debate continues with crude analogies depicting its controversial role in the Bitcoin network. Meanwhile, an enthusiast has paid more than $7000 to fulfill Elon Musk's challenge of encoding a video clip on the blockchain. Amid a surge in Ordinals and Solana activity, Ethereum's previous NFT market dominance is waning. Elsewhere, stolen NFTs from the NFT Trader platform have been recovered, and music platform Sound.xyz has partnered with Coinbase-backed blockchain Base, enabling artists to mint their music.
Ex-US President Donald Trump is seemingly liquidating a substantial amount of Ether (ETH) he amassed via sales of his NFTs, directing $1,075 ETH into Coinbase since December 8. His ETH profits resulted from his NFT series, one of which featured his notorious mugshot taken when he turned himself in to Georgia law enforcement last summer. Data from blockchain intelligence agency Arkham highlights that the Trump-associated wallet has transferred 1,075 ETH (approximately $2.4 million) to Coinbase in 13 installments since December 8, mostly in groups of 100, 125, and 200 ETH. Over time, Trump's ETH balance had grown, topping $4 million before he began selling off.
Years prior, Trump dismissed cryptocurrencies as "phony" and a "looming disaster," promoting the US dollar as central to the nation's fiscal prosperity in August 2021. Despite announcing his intention to run in the 2024 presidential election, his campaign recently faced a setback as Colorado’s Supreme Court excluded him from the state ballot.
The contentious matter of Bitcoin Ordinals has taken a bizarre turn, with commentators using crude, excrement-based analogies to depict the ongoing debate around its value add to the Bitcoin network or its role as simple spam. Tomer Strolight, editor-in-chief at Bitcoin financial services company Swan, used a rather explicit allegory to illustrate the conflict. Another commentator compared Ordinal artists to people fouling a community pool after paying the entrance fee. This derisive comment likely refers to Taproot Wizards—a digital art collection inscribed by Bitcoin Ordinals—which greatly influenced Ordinals adoption in 2023.
Despite the ongoing disputes, Ordinals remain a contentious topic in the crypto world. Critics argue that Ordinals inscriptions are spam, causing both congestion in the Bitcoin mempool and posing a real security threat to Bitcoin Core. Meanwhile, proponents argue that Ordinals bring viable economic activity to Bitcoin and incentivize miners to continue operations for larger fee rewards.
One ardent Ordinals supporter completed a challenge from Elon Musk to encode a video clip on a blockchain, paying a staggering $7,223 to accomplish it. Musk's challenge came in response to a post musing about the relevance of NFTs, which spurred Musk to suggest the image at least be encoded on the blockchain. The resulting video, which cost the inscriber 16.9 million sats (or $7,223), was added to block 823,142 on Bitcoin.
As the focus shifts toward Ordinals and Solana, Ethereum's dominance in the NFT market is fading. Bitcoin's $796.7 million in Ordinals sales this month surpass both Ethereum and Solana, which recorded $319.7 million and $334.2 million respectively. This trend starkly contrasts with the earlier part of the year when Ethereum dominated the NFT trading volume, reaching close to $2 billion compared to Bitcoin's $137.3 million.
Additional NFT-related headlines include the full recovery of all stolen Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs from the NFT Trader platform. The thief returned the nearly $3 million worth of NFTs after receiving a bounty payment. Also, the Coinbase-backed blockchain Base has partnered with music platform Sound.xyz, creating new opportunities for artists to mint music via the Base ecosystem.
Published At
12/28/2023 8:41:31 AM
Disclaimer: Algoine does not endorse any content or product on this page. Readers should conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the asset, company, or any information in this article and assume full responsibility for their decisions. This article should not be considered as investment advice. Our news is prepared with AI support.
Do you suspect this content may be misleading, incomplete, or inappropriate in any way, requiring modification or removal?
We appreciate your report.