Wipeout: Eric Trump’s company loses half its value in 30 minutes

American Bitcoin stock plunged after restricted shares of the crypto miner co-founded by Eric Trump were freed up to be traded.

The selloff was swift. Shares lost more than half of their value in less than 30 minutes as the equity lockup expired, triggering repeated trading halts. The stock pared declines later in the trading session, falling 38 per cent to $US2.24 in late trade.

Eric Trump (left) and Donald Trump Jr are both investors in the company.Credit: Bloomberg

Shares from a private placement that took place before American Bitcoin merged with Gryphon Digital Mining became available on Tuesday, according to the crypto miner and a post on the social media platform X by Trump.

“We expect near term volatility as those shares come to market and as some investors take the opportunity to realise gains,” Matt Prusak, president of American Bitcoin, said in a statement.

Crypto firms have often seen large declines after the end of share lockup periods or announcing private investment in public equity filings, as their largely retail investor base takes it as a signal to sell. Retail traders often fear that those early investors will want to lock in their gains and unload shares.

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“I’m holding all my American Bitcoin shares,” said Trump in the X post. “I’m 100 per cent committed to leading the industry.”

The latest selloff in American Bitcoin comes after the stock had already fallen more than 60 per cent from a September peak through Monday’s close, amid a broader rout in the digital asset market that has seen Bitcoin plunge more than 25 per cent from its own high touched in early October. Investor sentiment on crypto has soured as broader macroeconomic factors weighed on risk assets.

On Tuesday, the crypto market rebounded after almost $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) of leveraged crypto positions were liquidated a day earlier.

There are more equity unlocks in 2026 for American Bitcoin, according to Brian Dobson, a managing director at Clear Street, adding that share selloffs are typical after such periods.

“Given the outsized impact on the shares that today’s expiration had, I believe that investors would likely pay close attention to upcoming lockup expirations,” Dobson said.

Investor sentiment on crypto has soured as broader macroeconomic factors weighed on risk assets.Credit: Bloomberg

However, for the next events shareholders “would likely be more judicious in their selling of shares,” he added.

Spun out of Hut 8 earlier this year, American Bitcoin saw its shares surge initially on the announced mining venture. Hut 8, which still owns a majority stake in American Bitcoin, saw its shares fall as much as 15 per cent on Tuesday.

American Bitcoin reported third-quarter net income of $US3.5 million on revenue of $US64.2 million in November.

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“The unlock affects who can buy or sell, not the assets we operate or the work the team is doing every day,” said Prusak. “Short term price movement is outside our control, but execution is not. We remain focused on strengthening the business and confident in our strategy, our performance, and the long-term value we are building.”

Donald Trump Jr., who is also an American Bitcoin shareholder, along with other Trump family crypto ventures have suffered too. WLFI, the token of Trump-linked decentralised finance platform World Liberty Financial, is down more than 30 per cent from September’s high, while ALT5 Sigma Corp., a digital asset treasury company holding WLFI tokens, is down over 80 per cent from its record high.

Bloomberg

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