The winning bid in Melania Trump's NFT auction appears to have come from a wallet associated with Melania Trump
- Funds used to win Melania Trump's first NFT were traced back to a wallet that belongs to the creators of the project, Bloomberg reported.
- The former first lady jumped into the digital collectibles market with her auction last month.
Funds used to win an auction of Melania Trump's first NFT were traced back to a wallet that belongs to the creators of the project, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The former first lady delved into the booming world of digital collectibles late last year. And in late January, her website showed the NFT from the "Head of State Collection" auction sold for 1,800 SOL, the Solana blockchain's native token. The bid's value was roughly $178,400 during Wednesday's session.
Bloomberg outlined a series of blockchain transactions showing the cryptocurrency used to purchase the NFT came from a wallet belonging to the entity that originally listed the project for sale.
Transactions reviewed by Bloomberg show that on January 23, the digital wallet listed as the creator of Trump's NFT transferred 372,657 USDC to a second wallet. USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
The second wallet later sent 1,800 SOL to a third address. The third address is listed as the winner of the auction on Trump's website.
The original wallet on January 27 sent 1,800 SOL back to the second wallet address, said Bloomberg.
"The nature of Blockchain protocol is entirely transparent. Accordingly, the public can view each transaction on the Blockchain. The transaction was facilitated on behalf of a third-party buyer," Bloomberg quoted the Office of Melania Trump as saying in a statement.
That quote was also sent to Motherboard, an online tech magazine from Vice Media, which published its own analysis of the Trump NFT blockchain transactions earlier this month.
The "Head of State Collection" was centered on the first official state visit hosted by the Trump administration -- a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron in April 2018. Along with the NFT, the collection also included the white wide-brimmed hat worn and later signed by Melania Trump during the visit.