The Trump $8 billion family fortune is being tied to bitcoin
President Donald Trump has made no secret of his love for the crypto industry in his second term, appointing friendly regulators, establishing a US digital asset stockpile, ending prosecutions and pardoning its criminals.
Those moves are set to hit even closer to home as the industry increasingly drives the fate of his family's personal fortune.
His sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have hopscotched from one crypto conference to the next — Abu Dhabi in December, Washington in March, Dubai in May — rousing fans and drawing criticism about conflicts of interest along the way. They're getting top billing at a conference in Las Vegas this week, alongside Vice President JD Vance. A spokesperson for the Trump Organisation did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Their appearances come just as the most valuable asset underpinning the president's $US5.2 billion ($8.1 billion) personal fortune is set to become increasingly tied to the price of bitcoin.
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Trump Media and Technology Group, the family's money-losing social media business, announced Tuesday it was raising $US2.5 billion to buy bitcoin — what chief executive officer Devin Nunes called an 'apex instrument of financial freedom.' The company's balance sheet of cash, cash equivalents and investments were worth $US759 million at the end of the first quarter, according to a filing on Tuesday.
It's among the highest-profile examples of what's become a familiar strategy: There are more than 30 public US companies that purchase bitcoin as part of their corporate treasury, according to CoinGecko. Bernstein analysts project bitcoin could see $US330 billion in inflows via corporate treasuries before 2030.
The token climbed above $US111,000 last week for the first time ever and has gained roughly 55 per cent since Trump's election win in November. Trump Media, by comparison, is down about 34 per cent over the same period.
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