TL;DR Breakdown
- Solana says Melania Trump NFT is not part of any SOL initiative.
- Lab says Melania Trump choice for SOL blockchain for her NFT was organic.
Solana labs, developers of Solana blockchain and its flagship cryptocurrency, Solana, have distanced themselves from claims by Melania Trump, who announced that she would be releasing her Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) on their blockchain.
However, the former First Lady simply tapped into the permissionless public blockchain (Solana), which anybody can use to build anything. The open approach to getting things done on the blockchain has led to this controversy by the blockchain team. It doesn’t mean Melania’s NFT won’t be dropping on the SOL blockchain.
Melania announced her plan on Wednesday, after which Solana Labs reached out to clarify that it isn’t responsible for the project coming to its network.
“I wanted to inform you, to avoid any confusion, that her choice to use the Solana blockchain was completely organic, and this project is not part of any Solana-led initiative,” the blockchain developer said.
Melania Trump NFT
The former First Lady NFT, called “Melania’s Vision” by artist Marc-Antoine Coulon, began auction through her website from today through December 31 and sells for a price of 1 SOL—currently worth about $185.
The 51-year-old said she would be releasing additional NFT consequently and would host another auction January 11, 2022, that includes both digital and physical artwork, as well as an unspecified “physical one-of-a-kind accessory.”
Trump said that the NFT initiative will support her Be Best public awareness campaign and that she will donate an unspecified portion of proceeds from the NFT sale to “assist children aging out of the foster care system.”
Melania, 51, joins a growing list of celebrities offering lucrative digital memorabilia. Earlier this year, Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi, Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, and American football player Tom Brady launched their collections of NFTs. Singer Justin Bieber and K-pop group BTS have also dived in. The list of popular people who have floated their NFT is endless.
