by Ailan Evans
Republican Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters is selling a line of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to finance his campaign, Axios reported.
NFTs are unique packets of data stored on the blockchain, a decentralized public ledger distributed across multiple servers, that often correspond to media such as a piece of digital art. Masters’ NFT includes a digital copy of the cover art of “Zero to One,” a book he co-authored with tech billionaire Peter Thiel, along with a signed hardcover print of the book, according to Masters’ website.
“This is the first NFT we’re issuing to help share the book’s cool history, and to help raise money for my U.S. Senate campaign, so we can help use Zero to One thinking to save America from the brink of destruction,” Masters, who serves as chief operating officer of Thiel Capital, wrote in announcing the NFT.
Only 99 NFTs are set to be minted, and each will be sold for $5,800, Masters’ website says. The NFTs will also include an invitation to a private party hosted by Thiel and Masters, and access to an exclusive chat room.
Masters told Axios the NFTs were designed to attract “less conventional political donors” and broaden his campaign’s reach.
“The best NFT projects aren’t just random ‘art on the blockchain,’” Masters said, but rather “create or support certain communities where people share an excitement about something in particular.”
Masters is running in a crowded Arizona Republican primary which includes current Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. The winner will square off with Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who unseated incumbent Martha McSally in a 2020 special election.
Thiel is funding Masters’ election political action committee, the Saving Arizona PAC, to the tune of $10 million.
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Ailan Evans is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Blake Masters” by Blake Masters for Senate.
