American Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency mining company associated with the Trump family, concluded its tumultuous first day of trading on the Nasdaq with an impressive gain of over 16%, significantly bolstering the family’s wealth. The company, supported by Donald Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., took the leap to public markets following a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.
In initial trading on the day of its debut, American Bitcoin (ABTC) surged by as much as 91%, climbing from Gryphon’s previous closing price of $6.90 to a high of $13.20. However, the stock experienced a dramatic correction, dipping to an afternoon low of $6.72. Due to the volatility, Nasdaq temporarily halted trading of ABTC shares on five occasions. Ultimately, the company finished the trading day at $8, marking a 16.52% increase, and saw an additional rise of over 5% in after-hours trading, closing at $8.45.
Eric Trump, serving as the co-founder and strategy chief of American Bitcoin, expressed excitement over the public launch, referring to it as “an unbelievable day” that represented the culmination of significant effort. He mentioned that his venture into the business was driven by his long-term ownership of Bitcoin and the global acceptance of the cryptocurrency. He remarked on the timing of the launch, stating, “The floodgates are just starting to open.”
The United States has recently ascended to the second position on Chainalysis’ crypto adoption index, a development that the analytics firm attributes to President Trump’s supportive policies toward cryptocurrency. In response to concerns regarding possible conflicts of interest stemming from his father’s influence, Eric Trump dismissed the criticism as “totally illegitimate,” asserting that his involvement in the crypto market stemmed from personal financial struggles.
American Bitcoin aims to adopt a dual strategy by both mining Bitcoin and purchasing it, allowing for flexibility based on market conditions. Currently, the company holds 2,443 BTC, ranking it as the 25th-largest Bitcoin holder among publicly traded firms. With Bitcoin priced around $111,850, their holdings amount to approximately $273 million.
This marks the Trump family’s second foray into public crypto ventures within a week. Earlier, tokens from their initiative World Liberty Financial made their debut on crypto exchanges. The project released a quarter of its total supply of 100 billion WLFI tokens, but the value of WLFI has declined by about 30% since its launch, currently trading just above 21 cents.
In this venture, President Trump and his sons are prominently named, and a company closely linked to them stands to gain the majority of the generated revenue. This company also holds nearly a quarter of all WLFI tokens, valued at around $4.8 billion. Eric Trump’s estimated 7.5% stake in American Bitcoin is reportedly worth approximately $548 million. Reflecting on his financial situation, he noted, “we’re incredibly fortunate in life with or without this endeavor.”
