By Shashwat Chauhan, Medha Singh and Anirban Sen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – In a recent development, Trump Media & Technology Group has entered into an agreement with Crypto.com and a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) named Yorkville Acquisition Corp. The goal is to create a new entity focusing on a treasury strategy centered around accumulating CRO, Crypto.com’s proprietary cryptocurrency. This move further connects former U.S. President Donald Trump to the burgeoning cryptocurrency sphere.
This strategic alliance mirrors the approach taken by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, previously known as MicroStrategy, a software firm that began accumulating Bitcoin in 2020. As of now, Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings are estimated to be worth around $100 billion, based on current market prices. Its stock experienced a significant surge in 2024, mirroring Bitcoin’s price increase, and increasing fivefold.
Trump Media’s stock value saw a rise of 6.6% on Tuesday afternoon, reaching $18.36.
The new company, dubbed Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, will become a publicly traded entity through a merger with Yorkville Acquisition Corp. It is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol MCGA.
Following the announcement, the CRO token experienced a surge of 29.6%, reaching a value of 20 cents, according to CoinGecko data. Conversely, Yorkville’s shares declined by 2.2%, settling at $10.42.
Cronos, the underlying network for the CRO token, currently holds a market capitalization of $6.8 billion, representing a fraction of the global cryptocurrency market cap, which CoinGecko estimates at $3.9 trillion.
Earlier in the year, Trump Media, the operator of Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, announced its collaboration with Crypto.com to introduce exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and various products under the Truth.Fi brand.
“By establishing CRO as the foundation for Truth Social’s reward system and corporate reserves, Trump Media is effectively integrating the token into its institutional structure. This action also illustrates a growing trend of corporate entities adopting native tokens as part of their treasury management strategies,” commented Alice Liu, head of research at CoinMarketCap, a cryptocurrency data provider.
BITCOIN TREASURY BOOM
This latest move from Trump Media follows a recent decision by holders of digital tokens associated with World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture tied to the Trump family, to enable trading of the tokens. This decision opens avenues for widespread buying and selling, potentially increasing the value of the former president’s assets.
The cryptocurrency sector in the United States has experienced significant growth recently, partially fueled by regulatory conditions deemed favorable during the Trump administration.
On Tuesday, Canary Capital, a digital asset management firm, submitted a filing to list an ETF designed to track the price movements of the $TRUMP meme coin, a cryptocurrency whose performance is linked to Trump’s public image.
Deals similar to the Trump Media and CRO venture have occurred in recent months involving other companies that maintain significant holdings of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.