Eric Trump’s $765m bonanza after rollercoaster Wall Street debut

Eric Trump’s stake in a crypto company created this year is now worth around $US500 million ($765 million), in one of the most striking examples of how the first family is profiting from the digital-asset industry.

Trump’s second-oldest son owns about 7.5 per cent of American Bitcoin, according to Bloomberg calculations. The company, formed with little more than another firm’s technology and a flurry of paperwork, began trading on the Nasdaq exchange on Wednesday.

Eric Trump holds a large stake in closely held American Bitcoin, which he co-founded in March.Credit: Bloomberg

Shares of American Bitcoin closed 16.5 per cent higher at $US8.04, after more than doubling earlier in the session, with trading in the stock halted numerous times due to price swings.

The company says it will accumulate Bitcoin using machinery in New York, Alberta and Texas, provided by another crypto company called Hut 8 Corp.

“I am incredibly proud of American Bitcoin,” Eric Trump said in a text message, without commenting on the value of his shares. “We have put our heart and soul into the company and today is just the beginning.”

A representative for American Bitcoin didn’t respond to a request for comment.

American Bitcoin’s public market debut follows a roundabout series of transactions that paved the way for Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr. to gain anew from crypto’s mainstream embrace under their father’s administration.

Donald Trump’s embrace of crypto is proving to be lucrative for his family.Credit: AP

It adds to a wave of crypto firms enlisting Trump’s sons in prominent roles. The two are among a group that owns 98 per cent of the newly listed company, according to public filings.

The Trump family’s more than $US6.4 billion fortune is expanding with a variety of new crypto projects. While Eric Trump’s wealth is not broken out individually in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his stake in American Bitcoin is worth more than the value of a collection of 13 different Trump golf and resort properties, according to the Index.

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American Bitcoin’s listing came about in less than a year. It was spun from a newly created entity called American Data Centres, set up by a small investment bank called Dominari, which the Trumps also advise. It then received mining equipment from Hut 8 in exchange for a majority stake in the new company.

American Bitcoin said it would merge with Gryphon Digital Mining, which changed its name and ticker to ABTC on the Nasdaq.

The firm’s market capitalisation stood at more than $US8.2 billion on Wednesday. It booked net income of $US3.4 million on $US30.3 million of revenue in the three months ending in June.

President Trump became a high-profile champion of crypto on the campaign trail, and its most powerful advocate while in office. He signed legislation that helped legitimise a certain class of cryptocurrency, created a national stockpile of virtual assets and added regulators who’ve been friendlier to the industry, ending investigations of big digital asset companies.

Bloomberg

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