Former US First Lady Melania Trump launches NFT venture | Arts and Culture News

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Melania Trump will release NFTs ‘at regular intervals’ with some proceeds going to foster children, a statement said.

In exchange for a cryptocurrency token, you can have a digital watercolor painting of Melania Trump’s eyes.

The former United States first lady launched a venture this week selling NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, on her website in exchange for Solana tokens, which currently cost approximately $ 180 each.

Melania Trump will release NFTs “at regular intervals” on her website, according to a news release, with a portion of the proceeds going to foster children. It is unclear what percentage of proceeds will be donated, or whether donations will be made to specific charities associated with the foster child. An email inquiry about how donations would be made was not answered by Melania Trump’s press contact.

Aaron Dorfman, president and CEO of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, said when a company says “a portion of the proceeds” will go to charity without specifically indicating what the amount is, “It’s a big red flag.”

“It means the charity is not a serious part of their plan,” Dorfman said. “It’s a marketing ploy.”

The Trump family has historically had problems with charities, though Melania Trump was not directly involved in a clash with a family-run charity in New York.

While still US president, Donald Trump paid a $ 2m court -ordered fine after admitting he used his charitable foundation as a personal piggy bank. The fine was ordered to be distributed to eight charities.

The Donald J Trump Foundation has dissolved.

In addition, Trump has agreed to restrictions on whether he will build a new charity or foundation and New York State requires mandatory training for his children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump, who everyone is involved with the Trump Foundation.

Non-fungible tokens are essentially digital certificates of authenticity that can be attached to art, music or any other type of digital file. NFTs confirm ownership of an item by recording the details in a digital ledger known as a blockchain, which is public and stored on computers on the internet, making it effectively impossible to lose or damage.

An artist’s NFT known as Beeple sold for nearly $ 70m earlier this year. This has spurred huge interest in digital technology that has existed for several years, piggy-backing on an obsession with Bitcoin that has made blockchain the household word. Digital cat characters sold six figures total in 2017 and now you can buy digital LeBron James basketball highlights NFT for anywhere from a few bucks to nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

Although often portrayed as a fun hobby like collectibles because their values ​​fluctuate, NFTs are considered by many as investments. Like cryptocurrency, they are virtually unregulated, and many experts warn against putting money into them.

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