Donald Trump's digital trading cards have lost 72 percent of their value in the last week after prices initially soared online, according to figures from the OpenSea website which tracks the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
On December 15 the former president put 45,000 of the cards on sale, retailing at $99 each. After Trump promoted the "one-of-a-kind" assets online all the cards sold out within hours.
Each card depicts Trump as one of a number of heroic characters, including a superhero, astronaut, sheriff and NASCAR driver.
After selling out many of the cards were re-traded and their value soared, peaking at 0.82 Ethereum, or $999, last Saturday on December 17, according to OpenSea.
However, over the past week their value has fallen by 72 percent, according to the site, with each card now worth 0.23 Ethereum, or $280, as of 8:38 a.m. ET on December 24.
In total each card has still gained significant value since they were first sold, with their cost increasing by 182 percent since they were made available.
The number of Trump digital trading card sales on the OpenSea website per day has also declined, from a high of 6,661 on December 17, to just 529 on December 22 and 260 on December 23.
NFTs are pieces of virtual art that have their ownership recorded in blockchain, a mass peer-to-peer network of computers, using the same technology as cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.
Earlier this month Trump announced he would be making a "major announcement" via his Truth Social website, which many commentators assumed would be connected to his 2024 presidential election bid.
Some prominent Trump supporters were angered when the announcement turned out to be digital trading cards, which the former president described as "very much like a baseball card, but hopefully much more exciting."
Responding on his podcast right-wing commentator Steve Bannon, formerly Trump's chief White House strategist, said "I can't do this anymore," before saying whoever thought up the cards "ought to be fired today."
The cards also sparked mockery online, with politics Professor Eddie Zipperer asking if they were "some kind of meme making fun of Trump."
On Friday Trump said that he decided to release the trading cards because he simply "loved the art."
Speaking to conservative network OAN about the NFTs, the former president said: "Well I knew nothing about them and then a group came and I loved the art. They showed me the art.
"You know, it's sort of comic book art when you think of it, but they showed me the art and I said, gee, I always wanted to have a 30-inch waist."
On December 22 the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on Congress, and associated attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result, released its final report.
It concluded Trump was the "central cause" of the storming of Capital Hill by hundreds of his supporters, on January 6 2021.
Trump has resolutely denied any wrongdoing, and insists he asked his supporters to be "peaceful" on the day. The Committee has referred Trump for prosecution to the Justice Department on four counts, though this is not legally binding.
Newsweek has contacted a Trump spokesperson for comment.
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James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
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