Trump Ordinals NFTs Break the Norm: Here’s How It Works
In a bold move that breaks the norm, former US President Donald Trump has launched a new series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin blockchain, known as Bitcoin Ordinals. This marks a significant departure from the traditional Ethereum-based NFTs, as Bitcoin Ordinals offer a unique way to inscribe data like images and text directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain, embedding collectible content at the protocol level.
Trump’s Bitcoin Ordinals: A New Twist in the NFT Market
The new collection dubbed the “Mugshot Edition,” features a promotion offering collectors a chance to own a “one-of-one Bitcoin Ordinal digital trading card,” making them a rare digital collectible permanently inscribed onto the Bitcoin blockchain. Only 200 Mugshot Edition Bitcoin Ordinal cards will be created, each with unique serial numbers denoting order and scarcity.
To qualify for a Mugshot Edition Bitcoin Ordinals card, collectors must purchase 100 Mugshot Edition NFTs using wrapped ETH. The offer is limited to the first 101 buyers, although the website states that the offer is available to the first 200 buyers.
However, these Ordinals come with a unique limitation: they cannot be traded by their owners until December 2024. This restriction is intended to limit their appeal as “investment vehicles,” but it also significantly reduces their appeal as NFTs.
Controversy and Criticism
The launch of Trump’s Bitcoin Ordinals has sparked controversy in the crypto community. Critics have pointed out that the offer seems designed to boost sales of Trump’s most recent NFT collection. The collection features a series of digital “cards” depicting Trump in various iconic poses, which have generated over $26 million in trading volume.
Despite the controversy, the collection had been claimed by over half within hours of going on sale. The company behind the digital trading cards, NFT INC, states that it “is not owned, managed or controlled” by Donald Trump or the Trump Organization, but the former president’s endorsement isn’t cheap. Revenue from the new collection will be channeled to the presidential hopeful’s bank account.
Critics have also pointed out the contrast between Trump’s previous negative statements about cryptocurrencies and his current involvement in the NFT market. In 2021, Trump called crypto “dangerous” and warned of a potential explosion, yet in 2022, he launched his first official NFT collection.
The Future of NFTs on Bitcoin
The launch of Trump’s Bitcoin Ordinals marks a significant development in the NFT market. By leveraging the Bitcoin blockchain’s expected longevity, these Ordinals offer a new way to store and trade digital collectibles. Even if the platform responsible for minting the new Trump Ordinals, Magic Eden, ceases all operations, as long as Bitcoin exists, the satoshis on which they are inscribed will endure.
However, minting and transferring Ordinals is expensive compared to other formats. Like previous editions of Trump NFTs, the main mugshot collection follows a more economically efficient model, with each one minted as an ERC-1155 token on Polygon.
Conclusion
Trump’s Bitcoin Ordinals represent a novel approach to NFTs, leveraging the Bitcoin blockchain’s unique properties to create a new type of digital collectible. Despite the controversy and criticism, the rapid uptake of these new NFTs suggests that there is significant interest in this new approach. As the NFT market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how other creators and collectors respond to this development.
Angel Marinov is the Managing Editor at Coinlabz. With extensive knowledge of crypto payments and blockchain use cases, Angel is a trusted source of accurate and timely information
