Trump Media pushes forward with pivot to crypto, ETF plans
U.S. President Donald Trump's social media firm, Trump Media & Technology Group, said on Tuesday it had reached a binding agreement to roll out an array of retail investment products, including crypto, in its latest bid to diversify into financial services.
The plan, including a series of exchange-traded funds aligned with Trump's America First policies, followed news of a preliminary agreement reached last month between Trump Media and Crypto.com, a digital asset platform with ties to broker-dealer Foris LLC, and Yorkville America Digital, an affiliate of Yorkville Advisors, a New Jersey-based investment advisory and asset management firm.
Trump Media, which runs the Truth Social streaming and social media platform, said the funds are expected to launch later this year, subject to regulatory approval, and will be widely available in the U.S. and abroad. So far, no ETF filings have been submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission website.
"We look forward to bringing ETFs to the market for investors who believe both the American economy and digital assets are poised for tremendous growth," said Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media, in a press release.
On March 27, Crypto.com said the SEC had informed it that the agency had officially closed a 2024 investigation into the company and would file no enforcement action against it.
Trump Media, Crypto.com, Foris and Yorkville did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Trump family, long rooted in skyscrapers and country clubs, has opened multiple beachheads in crypto, quickly gaining hundreds of millions of dollars. Those other crypto forays include Trump NFTs, a meme coin, a stake in a newly formed bitcoin producer called American Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency exchange World Liberty Financial.
The Trump Organization announced in January that the president's investments, assets and business interests, including his $2.7 billion stake in Trump Media, would be held in a trust managed by his children and he would play no role in day-to-day operations or decision-making.
A handful of ETFs already offer products with investment strategies that align with Trump's policy objectives. The largest of these is the American Conservative Values ETF, which has $110 million in assets, launched in October 2022. The God Bless America ETF, launched the same month, describes itself on its website as "an investment for God-fearing, flag-waving conservatives" and has assets of $79.4 million.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump says he has no plans to speak to Musk as feud persists
President Donald Trump may get rid of the red Tesla Model S that he bought in March after showcasing Mr Elon Musk's electric cars on the White House lawn. PHOTO: DOUG MILLS/NYTIMES Trump says he has no plans to speak to Musk as feud persists WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on June 6 that he has no plans to speak with Mr Elon Musk, signalling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut Bill any time soon. Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump said he wasn't 'thinking about' the Tesla CEO. 'I hope he does well with Tesla,' Mr Trump said. However, Mr Trump said a review of Mr Musk's extensive contracts with the federal government was in order. 'We'll take a look at everything,' the president said. 'It's a lot of money.' Mr Trump may get rid of the red Tesla Model S that he bought in March after showcasing Mr Musk's electric cars on the White House lawn, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Earlier on June 6, Mr Trump said that Mr Elon Musk had 'lost his mind' but insisted he wanted to move on from the fiery split with his billionaire former ally. 'You mean the man who has lost his mind?' Mr Trump said in a call with ABC when asked about Mr Musk, adding that he was 'not particularly' interested in talking to the tycoon. Mr Trump later told Fox News that Mr Musk had 'lost it,' while CNN quoted the president as saying: 'I'm not even thinking about poor guy's got a problem.' Mr Musk, for his part, did not directly address Mr Trump but kept up his criticism of the massive Republican tax and spending Bill that contains much of Mr Trump's domestic agenda. On his social-media platform X, Mr Musk amplified remarks made by others that Mr Trump's 'big beautiful Bill' would hurt Republicans politically and add to the nation's US$36.2 trillion (S$46.6 trillion) debt. He replied 'exactly' to a post by another X user that said Mr Musk had criticised Congress and Mr Trump had responded by criticising Mr Musk personally. Mr Musk also declared it was time for a new political party in the United States 'to represent the 80 per cent in the middle!' People who have spoken to Mr Musk said his anger has begun to recede and they think he will want to repair his relationship with Mr Trump, according to one person who has spoken to Mr Musk's entourage. The White House statements came one day after the two men battled openly in an extraordinary display of hostilities that marked a stark end to a close alliance. Tesla stock rose on June 6, clawing back some losses from the June 5 session, when it dropped 14 per cent and lost US$150 billion in value, the largest single-day decline in the company's history. Mr Musk's high-profile allies have largely stayed silent during the feud. But one, investor James Fishback, called on Mr Musk to apologise. 'President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon's behaviour is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing,' Mr Fishback said in a statement. Mr Musk, the world's richest man, bankrolled a large part of Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Mr Trump named Mr Musk to head a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Mr Trump feted Mr Musk at the White House a week ago as he wrapped up his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Mr Musk cut only about half of 1 per cent of total spending, far short of his brash plans to axe US$2 trillion from the federal budget. Since then, Mr Musk has denounced Mr Trump's tax-cut and spending Bill as a 'disgusting abomination'. His opposition is complicating efforts to pass the Bill in Congress where Republicans hold a slim majority. Mr Trump's Bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives in May and is now before the Senate, where Republicans say they will make further changes. Nonpartisan analysts say the measure would add US$2.4 trillion in debt over 10 years. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he has been texting with Mr Musk and hopes the dispute is resolved quickly. 'I don't argue with him about how to build rockets and I wish he wouldn't argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,' Mr Johnson said on CNBC. 'Very disappointed' Mr Trump had initially stayed quiet while Mr Musk campaigned to torpedo the Bill, but broke his silence on June 5, telling reporters he was 'very disappointed' in Mr Musk. Mr Musk, who spent nearly US$300 million in the 2024 elections, said Mr Trump would have lost without his support and suggested he should be impeached. Mr Trump suggested he would terminate government contracts with Mr Musk's businesses, which include rocket company SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink. The billionaire then threatened to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, the only US spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. Mr Musk later backed off that threat. Mr Musk had been angered when Mr Trump over the weekend revoked his nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to head the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Two sources with direct knowledge of the dispute said White House personnel director Sergio Gor had helped turn Mr Trump against Mr Isaacman by highlighting his past donations to Democrats. Mr Musk and Mr Gor had been at odds since the billionaire criticised Mr Gor's pace of hiring at a March Cabinet meeting, the two sources said. A White House spokesperson, Mr Steven Cheung, praised Mr Gor's efforts to staff the administration but did not address his relationship with Mr Musk. A prolonged feud could make it harder for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year's midterm elections if Mr Musk withholds financial support or other major Silicon Valley business leaders distance themselves from Mr Trump. Mr Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending, and on June 3 he called for 'all politicians who betrayed the American people' to be fired in 2026. His involvement with the Trump administration has provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites, driving down sales while investors fretted that Mr Musk's attention was too divided. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump can bar AP from some White House events for now, US appeals court says
The Associated Press in a statement said it was disappointed by the decision and weighing its options. PHOTO: EPA-EFE Trump can bar AP from some White House events for now, US appeals court says WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump is free to bar the Associated Press from some White House media events for now, after a US appeals court on June 6 paused a lower court ruling mandating that AP journalists be given access. The divided ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit temporarily blocks an order by US District Judge Trevor McFadden, who ruled on April 8 that the Trump administration must allow AP journalists access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events while the news agency's lawsuit moves forward. The 2-1 ruling was written by US Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, joined by fellow Mr Trump appointee US Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas. Ms Rao wrote that the lower court injunction 'impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces' and that the White House was likely to ultimately defeat the Associated Press' lawsuit. The Associated Press in a statement said it was disappointed by the decision and weighing its options. A White House spokesman, Mr Taylor Budowich, in a statement on the social media platform X said the Associated Press has no 'right to unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.' In a dissent, Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said her two colleagues' ruling cannot be squared with 'any sensible understanding of the role of a free press in our constitutional democracy.' The AP sued in February after the White House restricted the news outlet's access over its decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage despite Trump renaming the body of water the Gulf of America. The AP's lawyers argued the new policy violated the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects free speech rights. Mr McFadden, who was appointed by Mr Trump during his first term, said in his ruling that if the White House opens its doors to some journalists, it cannot exclude others based on their viewpoints. Mr Trump administration lawyers said the president has absolute discretion over media access to the White House and that Mr McFadden's ruling infringed on his ability to decide whom to admit to sensitive spaces. 'The Constitution does not prohibit the President from considering a journalist's prior coverage in evaluating how much access he will grant that journalist,' lawyers for the administration said in a court filing. On April 16, the AP accused the Trump administration of defying the court order by continuing to exclude its journalists from some events and then limiting access to Mr Trump for all news wires, including Reuters and Bloomberg. Reuters and the AP both issued statements denouncing the new policy, which puts wire services in a larger rotation with about 30 other newspaper and print outlets. Other media customers, including local news organisations that have no presence in Washington, rely on the wire services' real-time reports of presidential statements, as do global financial markets. The AP says in its stylebook that the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, the AP will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Mr Trump has chosen. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
US, China to hold trade talks on Jun 9 in London, Trump says
WASHINGTON: Three of President Donald Trump's top aides will face their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday (Jun 9) for talks to resolve a trade dispute between the world's two largest economies that has kept global markets on edge. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent Washington in the talks, said Trump, who announced the talks in a post on his Truth Social platform but provided no more details. It was not immediately clear who would represent China. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for more details. "The meeting should go very well," Trump wrote. Trump also said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to restart the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets to the US. Asked directly by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether Xi had agreed to do so, Trump replied: "Yes, he did." He added: "We're very far advanced on the China deal. The scheduling of the meeting comes a day after Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping in a rare leader-to-leader call amid weeks of brewing trade tensions and a battle over critical minerals. Trump and Xi agreed to visit one another and asked their staffs to hold talks in the meantime. Both countries are under pressure to relieve tensions, with the global economy under pressure over Chinese control over the rare earth mineral exports of which it is the dominant producer and investors more broadly anxious about Trump's wider effort to impose tariffs on goods from most US trading partners. China, meanwhile, has seen its own supply of key US imports like chip-design software and nuclear plant parts curtailed. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 in Geneva to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. That preliminary deal sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and US indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 stock index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18 percent after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2 percent below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the US-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives. Beijing sees mineral exports as a source of leverage, halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot make mineral-powered products. In recent years, the United States has identified China as its top geopolitical rival and the only country in the world able to challenge the US economically and militarily.
