Source: Originally reported by Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )
Written by: Golem ( @web3_golem )
A new venture has joined the Trump family’s burgeoning cryptocurrency interests. On September 3rd, American Bitcoin (NASDAQ: ABTC), a firm involved in Bitcoin mining and connected to the Trump family, began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange. This followed a merger facilitated through a stock swap with Gryphon Digital Mining, another company already listed in the US. The stock experienced significant volatility on its debut, triggering circuit breakers and reaching an intraday peak of $14.52. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the former president’s sons, are stakeholders in the organization. According to reports from Reuters, the brothers’ combined stake is estimated to be around 20%, currently valued at approximately $1.5 billion.
American Bitcoin’s Aspiration: Outpacing Strategy
Following American Bitcoin’s initial public offering (IPO), Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, publicly stated the company’s ambition to establish the largest Bitcoin holding in the United States. This statement subtly suggests a competitive aim to surpass Strategy, which currently holds the largest Bitcoin reserves among publicly traded American firms. Publicly available data from BitcoinTreasuries.net reveals that American Bitcoin currently holds 2,443 Bitcoins, placing it 25th among US-listed entities. Achieving the number one position would necessitate acquiring over 634,000 Bitcoins, an investment exceeding $70 billion.
According to information presented on its official online portal, American Bitcoin is centered around affordable mining and Bitcoin acquisition. Matt Pruask, President of American Bitcoin, outlined a three-pronged strategy to accomplish this aim:
- Establish an efficient mining operation designed to produce Bitcoin at costs lower than the prevailing market rate.
- Increase Bitcoin holdings by leveraging opportunities in the capital markets to strategically accumulate and oversee Bitcoin reserves.
- Foster growth in the wider Bitcoin economy through initiatives like encouraging adoption, building strategic partnerships, and launching relevant products.
American Bitcoin’s core business is Bitcoin mining. The mining firm Hut 8 provides American Bitcoin with cutting-edge ASIC technology along with specifically designed data centers, which should enable fast and economical expansion. With Hut 8 providing crucial technical backing, American Bitcoin’s main focus becomes sourcing and purchasing mining hardware. During August, American Bitcoin finalized an acquisition of 16,299 Antminer U 3 S 21 EXPH units from Bitmain. This acquisition is projected to add 14.02 EH/s of computing power, generating approximately $314 million in revenue. Further bolstering its expansion efforts, on September 3rd, American Bitcoin announced plans to seek up to $2.1 billion in capital through an “at-the-market” stock offering, specifically earmarked for acquiring additional mining equipment.
“Presently, our cost of mining Bitcoin is approximately half the actual price it trades for. We have substantial assets and data centers backing us… While others are forced to purchase Bitcoin at the market price, we are able to produce Bitcoin at a noticeably lower cost,” Eric Trump stated on September 3rd, highlighting the inherent advantages American Bitcoin possesses in Bitcoin mining.
In practice, American Bitcoin’s methodology regarding Bitcoin mining is like Cango, ranked second among public Bitcoin mining entities based on hash rate. Namely, mine Bitcoin with inexpensive methods, and hold on to the asset (Read more here: Discovering Possible American Crypto Stocks: How Cango Transformed from a Car Company to the World’s Second-Largest Bitcoin Miner ). However, American Bitcoin appears to be taking a more proactive approach. In addition to mining and HODLing, American Bitcoin plans on acquiring Bitcoin to achieve its expansion goals sooner. The Financial Times revealed in August that American Bitcoin was exploring the acquisition of a publicly traded Japanese company to establish Bitcoin treasuries in Japan. Given that co-founder Eric Trump has been visiting Hong Kong and Japan, there is more validity to this speculation.
Eric Trump: Vocal Advocate
Beyond being a co-founder and the Chief Strategy Officer of American Bitcoin, Eric Trump also serves as its prominent public face. Despite the fact that Eric Trump made the remark “I’ve become one of the great spokespersons for cryptocurrency,” it’s evident that he frequently incorporates a personal endorsement into all public discourse, to an effective end. After the successful American Bitcoin IPO, Eric Trump shared a post from the company sharing that he “invested tremendous passion and energy into this project over the past 12 months.”
The alliance between American Bitcoin and Eric Trump started with a pizza night. At the start of his presidency, Trump held a pizza night at the Trump Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. That evening, Asher Genoot, CEO of Bitcoin mining company Hut 8, met with Eric Trump and had a conversation. The conversation persuaded Eric Trump to found a Bitcoin mining enterprise and on April 1, 2025, American Bitcoin was formed.
After the company’s founding, Trump’s older son, Donald Trump Jr., together with his second-youngest son, Eric Trump, along with mining firm Hut 8 owned 98% ownership of American Bitcoin combined. However, according to SEC documents filed by American Bitcoin, American Bitcoin is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hut 8, which has 585,779,924 Class B common shares and 80% of voting rights.
In this resource allocation, Hut 8 is providing technology and company operations, while Eric Trump helps to generate investments.
“In the very competitive market of Bitcoin mining, standing out is challenging. Having the president’s son involved is an example,” said Will Foxley, co-founder of Blockspace Media. Eric Trump has performed well, so far.
Eric Trump facilitated access to capital markets to American Bitcoin. Matt Prusak, CEO of American Bitcoin, mentioned Eric’s connections to family offices and institutions and said that “Eric can connect with potential partners with just one phone call.” In addition, the Trump family name gave American Bitcoin extra narrative appeal and exposure for free, as exemplified by the stock price following its public offering.
Eric stated at the Consensus blockchain conference in May that “Like all Trump family businesses, American Bitcoin intends to be a giant of the industry.” Success is possible given that his father was a president.
What does the Trump family want from American energy?
The cryptocurrency activities of the Trump family now include DeFI, stablecoins, meme coins, crypto reserves, and cryptocurrency stocks. American Bitcoin’s addition expands their hold to U.S. energy.
The Trump administration pushed “America Energy First,” which focused on domestic energy growth (notably fossil fuels and nuclear power). Also, the previous administration incentivized local and privately-owned energy projects through taxation and subsidies. Indirectly, the “America Energy First” policy reduced the hurdles and costs of energy for American Bitcoin miners to grow and continue. In June of 2024, Trump also engaged in a campaign event at Mar-a-Lago to meet several of the largest American mining farm owners and talk about how the United States could be the top-ranking Bitcoin mining country. The move was created to gain their political support.
This is a period of opportunities in the mining industry and the Trump family can gain profits in the space. In addition, having the Trump family strengthen its presence in the energy sector by means of Bitcoin mining also supports Trump.
Eric mentioned that the rationale for forming the WLFI project was because of the hostility of established banks toward his family. After Trump’s first term, banks within the United States shut down hundreds of bank accounts connected to the Trump family. Trump also said that companies like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were discriminatory. If WLFI succeeds in American finance by means of cryptocurrency, the problem will not reoccur if Trump loses the future election.
Over the past term, the Trump family has leveraged the president’s clout to privately invest in important areas (including infrastructure, finance, technology, social media, energy, real estate, etc.). This move is designed to ensure a firm grasp on power and to have established foundations, resources, and a network even if the political clout has passed on.