Melania T.Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Melania Trump’s latest post-White House project just got caught up in the ebbs and flows of the novel cryptocurrency market.
The two-week-long, online-only auction had an opening bid equivalent to $250,000, her office said. At the time of the announcement, thevalue of a SOLwas around $170.
But on the final day of the auction, which was Tuesday, the value had dropped as low as $93.
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According to theauction page on Trump’s website, the highest bid was 1,800 SOLs or $177,930, lower than the opening bid she had touted in the press release. Earlier this month, 1,800 SOLs would have been worth much more.
Solana’s auction page showsfive successful bidsfor the “Head of State Collection.”
A spokeswoman for Trump tells PEOPLE: “There was a high level of interest surrounding the Head of State Collection, particularly from collectors of memorabilia and fashion artifacts. Interested parties were provided details surrounding the items in conversation over the phone. The sale closed at midnight.”
In announcing the auction, Trump said a portion of the proceeds would go to “individuals who have been in the foster care community with access to computer science and technology education,” though she did not say how much of the earnings would go towards that cause.
The spokeswoman didn’t respond to a question about the donated money.
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Cryptocurrency has plummeted since November, when values for Bitcoin, Ethereum and other tokens hit an all-time high. The crypto-crash has made as much as $1.4 trillion in value vanish globally,according toForbes.
AsThe New York Timespoints out, if Trump holds onto the 1,800 SOLs she earned from the auction, the value could go up — or down, depending on what happens to the market.
source: people.com
