NFT Market Thrives In Q1 Despite March Slump, Trump Trading Cards See Boost Following Indictment

Following the announcement of Donald Trump’s indictment in New York last Thursday, sales of his digital collectibles skyrocketed. A report also showed that the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) had its best quarter since the beginning of last year, with a total trading volume of $4.7 billion, even though March was weaker.

Donald Trump Digital Collectibles Surge In Sales Following Indictment

Opensea’s NFT market data shows that sales of the Official Trump Digital Trading Cards have risen in the wake of the announcement that the 45th President of the United States is the first current or former head of state to be indicted on criminal charges.

Media reports indicated that the sealed indictment from a Manhattan grand jury has more than 30 counts of business fraud. This follows an inquiry into a purported plan to provide payment to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence, which traces back to the US presidential election of 2016.

In December, Trump announced the NFT collection through social media. Within a few hours, the initial badge sold out shortly after its release. The thousands of tokenized cards represent him as any macho character, up to and including Superman.

Following the indictment, sales surged by more than 400% in a single day, reaching a volume of over 90 ETH on Thursday (equivalent to about $166,000 at the time of writing). On Friday, March 31, the floor price also exceeded 0.59 ETH. The number of owners is currently close to 14,000, although prices have reverted to more typical levels.

NFT Market Booms As Trading Volume Surpasses $4.7 Billion In Q1 Of 2023

Dappradar, a marketplace for decentralized apps, has reported that NFTs had a strong first quarter overall, despite a notable decrease in sales during March. In the first quarter of 2023, the trade volume increased by more than 137%, reaching $4.7 billion. This is the most remarkable quarterly rise since the second quarter of 2022.

According to Dappradar, the first quarter of the year saw a change in the market for non-fungible tokens, as Opensea no longer dominated. It further noted that the NFT market is evolving rapidly, with new players and changing dynamics. 

The platform highlighted in a blog post entitled “NFT Marketplace War Doubles Trading Volume in First Quarter” that they had not observed such a percentage since February 2021. The post acknowledged the rivalry between Opensea and Blur, wherein the latter dominated the market with a share of over 57% during the first quarter of the year and exceeding 70% in March.