Trump Sells Bitcoin-themed Sneakers
On the evening of July 31st, Beijing time, the US Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, announced a series of Bitcoin-themed sneakers on his social media platform, Truth Social.
As soon as the news was released, the most popular high-top Bitcoin-themed sneakers, originally priced at $499, sold out within three hours. Subsequently, scalpers appeared on the shopping website eBay, with more than ten listings, with the highest price reaching $2500.
This is not the first time that Trump has endorsed and sold shoes. However, after his speech at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, Trump sees cryptocurrencies and crypto users as one of the key focuses for garnering votes.
On July 31st, on Truth Social, Trump referred to the sneakers as limited editions, with each pair numbered. They could be purchased using Bitcoin or the user’s preferred cryptocurrency.
The website displayed that there were 1000 pairs in the series, with the high-top orange sneakers priced at $499, and the low-top orange and high-top black sneakers priced at $299 each.
Trump Appeals to Crypto Users Again, Bitcoin-themed Sneakers Sold Out and Resold with 5-fold Markup
The news quickly attracted many buyers, with 1000 pairs of the high-top Bitcoin-themed sneakers selling out within three hours. Currently, on the shopping website eBay, scalpers have raised the price of these shoes to $2500, with the lowest price being $700. There are a total of 13 listings, and some sellers have 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 the sellers receive them, it is expected to take place 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 buyer feedback section. It is currently unclear whether these potential transactions comply with the law.
Currently, the low-top orange and high-top black versions are still available for pre-order on the official website, priced at $299 per pair.
After the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, Trump’s slogan became “Crypto President.”
Now, Bitcoin-themed sneakers have become a unique 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. In addition, the official website states that five pairs of the limited edition high-top orange sneakers will be randomly signed by Trump. This means that Trump sneaker enthusiasts have a 1 in 200 chance of receiving a signed pair, which aims to further attract users and showcase the collectible value of these shoes.
This is not the first time Trump has promoted products. As early as February 17th of this year, Trump spoke at a sneaker exhibition held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and showcased a pair of gold “Trump” brand sneakers on the podium. Trump named them the “Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker.” “This is something I have been talking about for 12 or 13 years, and I think it will be a great success,” Trump said during his speech.
The gold high-top sneakers are printed with elements of the US flag and the uppercase letter “T,” representing Trump. They are sold online for $399. There were only 1000 pairs released. At the shoe exhibition in Philadelphia, a man purchased a pair of “Trump Gold Boots” for $9000 through an auction.
In addition to releasing Bitcoin-themed sneakers, Trump will also release the fourth series of NFTs in the future. As of 1:00 pm on August 1st, the floor price of Trump’s first series of digital trading cards fell by 4.46% in 24 hours, but the trading volume 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) saw a 2.95% decrease in floor price.
On July 17th, according to an interview published by Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump plans to launch the fourth NFT series. In the interview, Trump stated that his previously released NFT collectibles were “very successful” and sold out within a day: “All sold out: 45,000 cards. I released it three times, and I will release it again because people want me to.”