Trump Media and Technology Group has officially expanded its efforts into the world of cryptocurrencies by filing for two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to Bitcoin, Ether, and the Cronos ecosystem.
This strategic move, executed through Truth Social Funds—the company’s ETF division—marked a notable development in the interplay between U.S. politics and the burgeoning cryptocurrency investment sector. The applications, submitted recently, include the “Truth Social Bitcoin and Ether ETF” and the “Truth Social Cronos Yield Maximizer ETF.”
The proposed Bitcoin and Ether ETF aims to track the performance of these two leading cryptocurrencies, with a particular emphasis on Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the Cronos Yield Maximizer is designed to provide investors exposure to CRO, the native token of the Cronos blockchain associated with Crypto.com. This fund will also offer staking rewards to investors, enhancing its appeal in a competitive market. Crypto.com is collaborating with Trump Media, providing custody, liquidity, and staking services to support the new products.
Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, expressed strong support for these funds and indicated that the company plans to enable trading access once the ETFs launch.
This recent filing adds to Trump Media’s previous initiatives in the cryptocurrency space, including efforts to secure approval for a standalone Bitcoin ETF and a multi-asset crypto fund encompassing several prominent tokens. Given the increasing competition in the ETF market, where established asset managers like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale already offer widely traded Bitcoin investment vehicles, Trump Media’s entry represents a significant effort to carve out a niche in the digital finance landscape.
Moreover, Trump Media has indicated ambitions extending beyond ETFs. Plans for a new digital token distribution to shareholders on the Cronos network have been disclosed, alongside previous announcements about establishing a corporate crypto treasury involving CRO tokens. However, these expansions have not gone unnoticed and have spurred political scrutiny, with critics highlighting potential conflicts of interest stemming from the president’s business ventures as regulatory conversations about digital assets unfold in Washington.
In related news, the cryptocurrency landscape has encountered a downturn, with Bitcoin reportedly losing around 25,000 millionaire addresses since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Despite a shift towards a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment, blockchain data indicates that the number of addresses holding at least $1 million in Bitcoin has decreased by approximately 16% year-over-year. This trend suggests that regulatory optimism has not yet translated into sustained on-chain wealth growth, particularly affecting wallets that hover near the millionaire threshold, while larger investors appear to have better resisted market volatility.
In the broader context, some of the increase in Bitcoin millionaire addresses had occurred before Trump took office, driven by a rally in late 2024 linked to election-related optimism and expectations of deregulation. The current market dynamics seem to reflect shifting sentiments amid ongoing political and regulatory developments in the cryptocurrency space.
