Speculation Melania Trump bought own NFT offering after money trail revealed

Melania Trump has been accused of buying her own NFT offering after a strange money trail was revealed.

A Melania Trump NFT was bought for $185,000 ($A258,000) by the group that launched the project, according to a report. Picture: AFP / Saul Loeb

The winning bid in the auction for Melania Trump’s first NFT came from a virtual wallet that belongs to the same organisation that launched the project, according to a report.

The former first lady started the auction last month, offering the public a chance to own artwork from a collection of nonfungible tokens on the Solana blockchain, reports NY Post.

The collection, titled “Head of State” includes a digital portrait of the former first lady wearing a designer hat during her first official state visit in 2018.

The winner of the auction is tied to a digital wallet that is listed as the creator of the NFT, according to Bloomberg.

The website that hosted the auction says that the digital wallet that created the NFT transferred 372,657 USDC, a stablecoin that is pegged to the dollar, to another wallet on January 23.

The second wallet then sent 1800 SOL, the cryptocurrency that runs on the Solana blockchain, to a third address, which is listed as the winner.

The former first lady announced that NFTs featuring images of her from her first state visit in 2018 would be up for auction. Picture: AFP / Jim Watson

SOL is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalisation ($A53 billion).

Four days later, the original wallet sent 1800 SOL, which is now worth around $185,500 ($A258,000), back to the second wallet address, according to Bloomberg.

“The nature of Blockchain protocol is entirely transparent,” Ms Trump’s office said in a statement. “Accordingly, the public can view each transaction on the Blockchain. The transaction was facilitated on behalf of a third-party buyer.”

NFTs are a way for artists and creators to sell their work by offering the buyer exclusive rights of digital ownership.

In December, Ms Trump announced an initiative to sell NFTs with part of the proceeds going to support children ageing out of the foster care system.

This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission.