TechFlow News, April 29: According to Forbes, Eric Trump, the second son of Donald Trump, has promoted his Bitcoin company American Bitcoin as a “money-printing machine.” In reality, however, it functions as an arbitrage vehicle exploiting MAGA investors’ sentiment. The company attracts investors through exaggerated marketing, leverages the premium valuation associated with the Trump brand to issue shares at inflated prices, and then uses the proceeds to purchase Bitcoin—leaving ordinary investors with heavy losses. Since its September listing, the company has sold approximately 158 million shares, raising roughly $351 million, and used those funds to acquire Bitcoin valued at approximately $390 million. While the company claims its mining cost is around $58,000 per Bitcoin, factoring in equipment depreciation and other expenses brings the true all-in cost to about $90,000—higher than Bitcoin’s current market price. The company faces risks from its mining-rig financing agreements; if Bitcoin’s price fails to rebound, all mined Bitcoin may be used to settle equipment payments. American Bitcoin employs only two full-time staff members, its stock price has plunged 92% from its peak, and investor losses are estimated at around $500 million. Meanwhile, Eric Trump’s personal wealth reportedly increased from approximately $190 million to $280 million.
In response on X, Eric Trump stated, “Forbes has become a political weapon and a disgrace to journalism.” He noted that American Bitcoin was founded just over a year ago and has been publicly listed for 7 months and 25 days. The company currently holds over 7,000 Bitcoins, ranks as the world’s 16th-largest publicly traded Bitcoin company, operates nearly 90,000 mining rigs, and commands a hash rate of 28 EH/s. In Q4, Bitcoin holdings on the company’s balance sheet grew by 58%, its mining cost offers a 53% discount relative to market rates, and quarterly revenue reached $78.3 million—a 22% sequential increase. Eric Trump urged readers to assess information sources independently.
