Melania Trump NFT purchased by its creators

The people behind Melania Trump's NFT were also the ones to purchase it, according to blockchain records.

The former first lady released an NFT of her portrait, reportedly valued at $250,000, during an auction in late January. A recent investigation of the blockchain connected to the sale found that the NFT was purchased with 208 Solana tokens, or more than $200,000, by what appear to be the same parties who created the nonfungible token.

"The auction winner's address was funded with 1,800 [Solana tokens] on Jan. 25," reported Motherboard, "which came from an address that was itself funded by the address that created Melania's NFT. After the auction, the NFT creator address sent 180,000 [Solana tokens] back to [the original address], which converted it into [U.S. dollars]."

All transactions completed with a cryptocurrency like Solana are visible to the public, which means anyone can track the money as it moves from address to address.

It's unclear what the purpose of the purchase is.

Melania has released several NFTs since mid-December referencing her time as first lady. Her first was released on Dec. 16 and featured a watercolor picture of her eyes. The January NFT was based on a painting of Melania wearing her hat by French artist Marc-Antoine Coulon.

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Source: Washington Examiner.