Forbes: Trump, one of America's largest BTC investors
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Forbes: Trump, one of America's largest BTC investors
Will Trump use his presidency to push Bitcoin prices to new highs?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Dan Alexander
Translation: TechFlow
The president's cryptocurrency portfolio includes not only World Liberty Financial and his memecoin, but also a massive investment in Bitcoin. Will Trump use his presidency to drive Bitcoin prices to new highs?
The greatest salesman in American history delivered a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.
Image source: Jon Cherry/Getty Images
Judging from Trump’s financial situation, it’s easy to overlook one of his most important assets: Bitcoin. This cryptocurrency does not appear in the financial disclosure documents the president submitted to the government, nor is it listed among the assets on the Trump Organization website, or in other asset reports. Yet there is no doubt that Trump holds a significant amount of Bitcoin, with his investment estimated at up to $870 million, making him one of the world’s largest Bitcoin investors.
The reason Trump’s Bitcoin investment remains so secretive is because he holds these assets indirectly—through his stake in Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG). The company operates the social platform Truth Social, an asset that does appear on his financial statements. Although TMTG generates less than $4 million in annual revenue, its valuation on Nasdaq trades at several billion dollars. Earlier this year, the company pivoted into crypto and raised $2.3 billion in May through debt financing and stock sales. Then in July, it purchased $2 billion worth of Bitcoin. That stock sale reduced Trump’s ownership in the company from 52% to 41%. Since TMTG’s large-scale Bitcoin investment, Bitcoin’s price has risen about 6%. Currently, Trump owns approximately 41% of the company, equivalent to around $2.1 billion in Bitcoin reserves, with Trump’s personal share estimated at $870 million.
Few billionaires globally hold more Bitcoin. For example, the Winklevoss twins may own over $8 billion in Bitcoin (assuming they haven’t sold much in recent years). Michael Saylor, a pioneer of corporate Bitcoin asset strategy, is now being emulated by TMTG. Saylor’s 7% stake in Strategy holds about $5 billion in Bitcoin, plus roughly $2.2 billion in personally held Bitcoin. Investor Tim Draper acquired Bitcoin from a U.S. government auction in 2014—Bitcoin seized during the takedown of the dark web marketplace Silk Road—that is now worth approximately $3.6 billion. Additionally, investor Matthew Roszak may hold over $1 billion in Bitcoin. Close behind is Trump, who during his first presidential term had virtually no connection to Bitcoin.
In 2019, Trump tweeted: “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money and whose value is highly volatile and based on nothing. Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate illegal behavior, including drug trafficking and other criminal activities.”
Yet Trump’s transformation from a cryptocurrency skeptic to a Bitcoin supporter reflects his business mindset and strategy—opportunism and marketing savvy. After leaving the White House, he began entering the crypto space. First, Trump earned millions in easy revenue by selling NFT trading cards featuring himself as a superhero. Then, as the 2024 election approached, he launched a crypto project with his three sons called World Liberty Financial. While the project initially made little progress, after Trump won the election, the crypto community—a group highly sensitive to government regulation—rushed into World Liberty Financial’s token, increasing Trump’s net worth by over $1 billion according to Forbes estimates. Meanwhile, amid intense buzz in Washington, the president-elect also launched a memecoin, further boosting his wealth by nearly $1 billion.
After the start of Trump’s second presidential term, the overall value of crypto industry assets generally rose. From Election Day in November last year to May this year, Bitcoin’s price increased by 60%. TMTG announced plans to begin accumulating Bitcoin and leveraged its inflated stock price to raise funds, issuing $1 billion in convertible bonds and $1.4 billion in stock. Currently, Trump holds about $400 million in debt, the largest loan in his portfolio, exceeding any real estate mortgage.
Although all this could raise ethical concerns, the White House doesn’t seem to care. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated: “The president and his family have never been involved in, and will never be involved in, conflicts of interest.” However, she immediately undermined her statement by citing clear conflicts of interest: “Through executive actions, support for legislation like the GENIUS Act, and other common-sense policies, the administration is fulfilling the president’s promise to make America the global center of cryptocurrency.”
Investors who bought TMTG stock and bonds to support its Bitcoin investment clearly hope for a memestock frenzy, which seems possible. After all, TMTG’s stock surged purely on the basis of a money-losing social media app, so might it surge again if tied to one of the world’s hottest assets? These bonds add a layer of security, structured to give investors a 4% return even if the stock doesn’t soar, after a year and a half.
However, market frenzies usually fade. Although TMTG’s balance sheet is now stronger—including billions in Bitcoin and $1 billion in debt—its market capitalization is $1.2 billion lower than before it pivoted to Bitcoin. Excluding the Bitcoin investment, investors currently value the company’s original media business at only 60% of its May valuation.
This doesn’t mean TMTG is doomed to fail, especially with three years remaining in Trump’s second term. If Bitcoin prices continue rising, aided by allies in the White House, perhaps Trump’s most loyal supporters will once again push up the stock price, potentially adding hundreds of millions or even billions to Trump’s wealth.
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