Trump Sells Bitcoin-Themed Sneakers
On the evening of July 31st, Beijing time, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, unveiled a series of Bitcoin-themed sneakers on his social media platform, Truth Social.
As soon as the news came out, the most popular high-top Bitcoin-themed sneakers, originally priced at $499, sold out within three hours. Subsequently, eBay saw scalpers listing them for as high as $2500.
This is not the first time Trump has marketed shoes. However, after his speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, cryptocurrencies and crypto users have become one of his focal points for attracting voters.
Trump Attracts Crypto Users Again with Bitcoin-Themed Sneakers, Scalped for 5 Times the Price
On Truth Social, Trump referred to the sneakers as limited edition, each pair numbered, and now available for purchase with Bitcoin or the user’s favorite cryptocurrency.
The website indicated that there were 1000 pairs of the sneakers in this series, with the orange high-top priced at $499, and the orange low-top and black high-top priced at $299 each.
After the release of the Bitcoin-themed sneakers, they quickly attracted many buyers, with 1000 pairs of the orange high-top sneakers selling out within three hours. Currently, on eBay, scalpers have already pushed up the price to $2500, with the lowest listing at $700. There are a total of 13 listings, and someone even set the price at $69,999 as a joke.
It is worth noting that although most of the listings on eBay promise to ship the shoes to buyers once they are received by the sellers, the estimated delivery dates are between September and November. Most sellers seem to have high buyer ratings, but more than one seller has been accused of being a “scam” in the feedback section. It is currently unclear whether these potential transactions comply with the law.
Currently, the orange low-top and black high-top versions are still available for pre-order on the official website, priced at $299 per pair.
Trump’s “Crypto President” Slogan After the Bitcoin 2024 Conference
Now, Bitcoin-themed sneakers have become a special marketing tool for Trump. It is worth noting that these sneakers are printed with the slogan “Trump, Crypto President,” which aligns with Trump’s speech at the conference. Additionally, the official website stated that five pairs of the orange high-top limited edition sneakers will be randomly signed by Trump, meaning Trump shoe enthusiasts have a 1/200 chance of receiving a signed pair. This is done to further attract users and showcase the collectible value of these shoes.
This is not the first time Trump has marketed products. As early as February 17th of this year, at a sneaker exhibition held at the Philadelphia Convention Center, Trump delivered a speech while holding a pair of golden “Trump” brand sneakers, which he named the “Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker.” “This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 or 13 years, and I think it will be a huge success,” Trump said during his speech.
The golden high-top sneakers feature elements of the American flag and the uppercase letter “T,” representing Trump, and were sold online for $399. Limited to 1000 pairs. At the Philadelphia shoe exhibition, a man won a pair of “Trump’s Golden Boots” through auction for $9000.
Trump Attracts Crypto Users Again with Bitcoin-Themed Sneakers, Scalped for 5 Times the Price
Currently, Trump’s website also lists more than a dozen other shoe products, including golf shoes, low-top sneakers, slippers, as well as two perfumes and a cooler, all of which support payments with Bitcoin and credit cards. According to the website, the sales revenue from these shoes will not be used as political donations.
On July 28th, at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Trump claimed that Bitcoin’s market value would surpass that of gold, and if elected, he would remove Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He also mentioned plans to keep Bitcoin held by the government as strategic reserves. Through his speech, Trump hopes to attract further support from the crypto community.
For example, on July 31st, well-known investor and serial entrepreneur Gary Cardone announced that he had donated 12.8 BTC, worth about $852,000, to the Trump administration. According to David Bailey, a Trump campaign aide, the Trump campaign team raised $21 million during the 2024 Bitcoin conference.
In addition to releasing Bitcoin-themed sneakers, Trump also plans to release the fourth series of NFTs in the future. As of 1:00 pm on August 1st, the floor price of the first series of Trump’s digital trading cards had fallen by 4.46% in the past 24 hours, but the trading volume had increased by 145.59%. The second series saw a 3.74% decrease in floor price and a 136.71% increase in trading volume. The third series (MugShot Edition) had a 2.95% decrease in floor price.
On July 17th, according to an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump plans to launch the fourth NFT series. In the interview, Trump stated that his previous NFT collection was “very successful” and sold out within a day: “Sold out completely: 45,000 cards. I released it three times, and I will release it one more time because people want me to.”
