Melania Trump drops new line of NFTs to help US foster kids
The former first lady of the US, Melania Trump, has announced plans to launch her own line of NFTs with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to charity.
An NFT dubbed “Melania’s vision” features a watercolour painting of Mrs Trump’s eyes by Marc-Antoine Coulon. It comes along with “an amulet to inspire” as well as a recording of Mrs Trump giving a message about hope, according to a press release shared on Twitter.
In a statement Melania said: “I am proud to announce my new NFT endeavor, which embodies my passion for the arts and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative.
“Through this technology-based platform, we will provide children computer science skills, including programming and software development to thrive after they age out of the foster care community,” the statement continued.
The digital artwork will be available to purchase on Melania’s website between now and the end of December and is currently priced at 1 SOL ($184).
Melania Trump’s NFT collection will be built on the Solana blockchain with a wider collection of physical and digital artwork as well as a one-off accessory due to be auctioned off in January 2022.
The announcement comes amid an explosion in the NFT market which has soared in popularity since the sale of digital artwork Beeple for $69m in March.
In the third quarter of 2021 global transaction volumes for NFTs exceeded $10.7bn. NFT was even chosen as the word of the year by Collins Dictionary securing the cultural salience of the new art movement.