Republican Senate Candidate Boasts Staggering $1.3 Million Fundraising Haul, Boosted By NFT Sales

Republican Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters raised $1.38 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 for his upcoming senate primary, helped by sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), he announced Monday.

“My campaign is generating a lot of excitement. We are pulling in new supporters and new sources of funding,” Masters said in a statement. “This is going to be one of the most expensive races in the country, and Republicans can’t afford to put forward someone who refuses to do the work.”

Masters announced last week that he would be partially financing his campaign through the sale of NFTs, unique packets of data that are stored on the blockchain, a decentralized public ledger distributed across multiple servers, and often corresponding to media such as a piece of digital art. The NFTs included a signed hardcover copy of “Zero to One,” a book he co-authored with tech billionaire Peter Thiel, along with digital cover art of the book.

The Senate candidate minted 99 NFTs in total and sold them each for $5,800, the maximum individual campaign contribution limit, according to his website, with the proceeds going towards his senate race.

Masters’ campaign announced late last week that all of the NFTs had been sold within 36 hours of their release, raising over $550,000 for the campaign.

“I am outraising everyone else, I will continue to do so, and I will have the resources to beat Mark Kelly in November,” Masters said.

Masters is currently competing in a crowded Republican primary race — which includes Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich — for the chance to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who has held the seat since defeating Republican Martha McSally in November 2020.

“Blake Masters has proven he can raise more in two days than his primary opponent Attorney General Mark Brnovich raises in two months,” Masters’ campaign said in a statement.