Crypto Community Stumped After Melania Trump ‘Shills’ Bitcoin (And Her NFT project)
The crypto world has reacted with a mixture of shock, mirth, and incredulity after the former First Lady of the United States Melania Trump took to Twitter to, as some media outlets put it, apparently “shill” bitcoin (BTC) on the anniversary of Bitcoin Genesis Block Day.
It is widely reported that Bitcoin's market cap exceeds USD$1 Trillion. Today marks the 13th anniversary of the Bitcoin Genesis Block. Happy Anniversary, #SatoshiNakamoto #MelaniaNFT pic.twitter.com/aZqNJFcZmd
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) January 3, 2022
The post was particularly baffling because of its timing. Her husband, the former President Donald Trump, less than a month ago called crypto “very dangerous,” and warned of a coming “explosion” in the markets.
Previously, he has called bitcoin a “scam” against the USD and famously once tweeted that he was “not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.”
Regardless, Melania Trump has made her own foray into the world of crypto, albeit through the medium of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). As previously reported, she has titled her collection “Melania’s Vision.” The first NFTs in the collection went on sale at the end of December and more are slated for release throughout this month, and the sales from the collection will be used to fund her Be Best initiative.
Some community members, such as the ZenGo‘s CEO Ouriel Ohayon, suggested that the former First Lady’s Twitter account may have been “hacked,” but this appears not to be the case, as Melania Trump (or her media team) has been active on the social media platform since – with more NFT-related activity.
In a post made in the past few hours, she wrote that a “portion of the proceeds will support children from the foster care community” ahead of another NFT sale deadline on the Solana (SOL) blockchain.
Although not exactly a direct bitcoin endorsement, back in mid-December, she shared a media story that featured a representation of a gold bitcoin “coin” as its featured image – although the story was about her NFT ambitions rather than BTC.
Julian Hosp, the CEO and Co-Founder of Cake DeFi, imagined a conversation between the Trumps.
Wonder how their good night convo is:
— Dr. Julian Hosp (@julianhosp) January 4, 2022
Mel: today is #bitcoin’s birthday. Lets celebrate.
Don: #bitcoin is bad. Very bad. Most bad ever.
Mel: But I make money from selling NFTs.
Don: Make up sex? https://t.co/TXfuKNIuYv
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Learn more:
– Defeated Donald Trump-themed NFT Sells for USD 6.6 Million
– NFTs in 2022: From Word of the Year to Mainstream Adoption & New Use Cases
– Trump vs. Twitter Fight Reignites Social Media Decentralization Vision
– Trump Takes Aim at Bitcoin, But Crypto Community Says ‘Thanks’
