Former First Lady Melania Trump's online hat auction was upended after the value of cryptocurrencies plummeted, dealing a heavy blow to investors worldwide.
Trump had earlier announced she'd be auctioning off a hat for a starting bid of $250,000 and her personal website, MelaniaTrump.com, had only allowed bids to be made in cryptocurrency, a decision that backfired after prices for several cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and Ethereum, cratered.
Melania Trump is selling a hat she wore for the French president's 2018 visit to the White House. The auction is turning into a potential victim of the crash in cryptocurrency.https://nyti.ms/3G26O8f— The New York Times (@The New York Times) 1643171405
Her website had promised that the proceeds from the auction of her personal items, including the wide-brimmed white hat she'd worn to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, during an April 2018 state visit, would "provide foster care children with access to computer science and technology education."
Reporters with The Washington Post checked the hat auction two days before its indeterminate ending time and found that the starting had dropped–and continued to fluctuate–around $155,916. Ahead of the crash, bids had exceeded $275,000.
The auction was no doubt affected by the crash because it only accepted bids in Solana (SOL), one of the hardest hit, whose blockchain experienced an outage Friday and Saturday.
The auction appeared to close early yesterday morning, with the hat going for $90,000 below the asking price.
News of the auction came as the Trump family faces heightened scrutiny and further financial troubles, just days after the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a court filing, accused the Trump family business of enaging in “fraudulent or misleading” practices by misrepresenting the value of its assets.
The news exposed the former First Lady and her family to significant mockery online.
Former presidents and their families can and do find lots of ways to make money, but this seems brazen and emblematic of the focus by Donald Trump and his family on profiting from the presidency at every turn.https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/01/25/melania-trump-auction-hat-crypto/\u00a0\u2026— Noah Bookbinder (@Noah Bookbinder) 1643208701
Melania Trump, the third lady auctioned her hat. I don't really care, do you?— Eileen Marie Sarah (@Eileen Marie Sarah) 1643171515
It's really hard to know what the most ridiculous aspect of this story is. That anyone would value a Melania hat at $250k? That it includes an animated token? That it's in Bitcoin? All of it? Melania Trump\u2019s Auction of Hat Hit by Plunge in Cryptocurrencyhttps://nyti.ms/3nVl9xi— Jennifer Bremer (@Jennifer Bremer) 1643171786
What\u2019s the expression? \u201cA fool and his money are soon parted.\u201d Melania Trump Set to Lose Out on $80,000 After Hat Auction Rocked by Crypto Nosedivehttps://www.thedailybeast.com/melania-trump-set-to-lose-out-on-dollar80000-after-hat-auction-rocked-by-crypto-nosedive\u00a0\u2026— Jeanne Mann (@Jeanne Mann) 1643208008
Whoops.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/us/politics/melania-trump-auction-hat-cryptocurrency.html?smid=tw-share\u00a0\u2026— Vanessa Friedman (@Vanessa Friedman) 1643190768
Couldn\u2019t have happened to a nicer grifterhttps://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1486044248403292160\u00a0\u2026— Tilerio (@Tilerio) 1643156923
Well, isn't that a shame.https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1486190306240389122\u00a0\u2026— Diane Hazen \ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u2764\ud83d\udc36\ud83d\udc36\u2764\ud83d\udcda\u2764 (@Diane Hazen \ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u2764\ud83d\udc36\ud83d\udc36\u2764\ud83d\udcda\u2764) 1643171755
Melania was auctioning this hat for 250K but the highest cryptocurrency bid was around 155K. As Ivanka sneered, "155K? That won't even buy a Republican senator"pic.twitter.com/fZwbkUp8Gc— Paul Rudnick (@Paul Rudnick) 1643139055
Melania Trump auctioned off her hat while the cryptocurrency she was accepting took a nosedive. If this weren't likely some kind of tax asset value manipulation scam it would be hilarious.https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/01/25/melania-trump-auction-hat-crypto/\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Elizabeth Sacha Baroness Cohen (@Dr. Elizabeth Sacha Baroness Cohen) 1643145161
The cryptocurrency crash has rippled all the way to Washington, where regulators, The Washington Post observed, have taken "a fractured approach to crypto."
The White House recently signaled that it will issue an executive order as part of the ongoing effort to set up government oversight of the new asset class, per a Bloomberg report.
While the cryptocurrency crash has spooked many average Americans, including those who'd profited from all-time highs in their value late last year. Still, many crypto-holders have made clear they have not lost faith after both the crypto and stock markets showed signs of stabilization following their respective swings.
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