Trump family crypto empire expands with Crypto.com partnership

The logo for crypto.com appears on a mobile phone and computer screen, in New York, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal crypto ventures are expanding again, this time with plans for a digital asset treasury company that holds an alternative cryptocurrency.

Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social media platform, announced Tuesday that it was partnering with the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to form a company that holds CRO, a token created by Crypto.com. A blank check company tied to Yorkville Advisors is another co-founder of the new firm, called Trump Media CRO Strategy.

Trump Media said it plans to purchase US$105 million worth of CRO. Yorkville said the total expected funding for the company’s treasury will be US$1 billion worth of CRO, or about 19 per cent of the token’s market cap, plus US$420 million in cash and equivalents and as a US$5 billion line of credit.

The announcement is part of the hottest trend in crypto, in which a wide variety of companies – many with no obvious ties to the world of digital assets – have made buying and holding cryptocurrency a primary part of their business plan. The model is based on MicroStrategy, a tech firm that first started buying bitcoin in 2020 and has seen its stock price soar.

“Companies of all sizes and sectors are strategically planning for the future by establishing digital asset treasuries anchored by assets that have created a comprehensive value proposition and are poised for even greater utility,” Devin Nunes, the chairman and CEO of Trump Media, said in a statement.

Trump Media said it plans to introduce a “rewards system” on Truth Social that uses Crypto.com digital wallet infrastructure. CRO saw its price jump Tuesday morning by about 30 per cent to 21 cents a token. It’s still far off from its all-time high of nearly 97 cents a token that it hit in 2021.

Expanding Crypto Empire

Since taking office, the Trump administration has pushed for crypto-friendly regulations and laws, while the Trump family has aggressively sought to expand its crypto-related businesses.

That unprecedented dynamic has led to allegations of corruption from Democrats, though the president says he has entrusted the management of his business dealings to his sons.

In May, Trump rewarded top investors in his meme coin with a swanky dinner. Trump launched the coin just days before taking office. Fans of the president have also been able to buy crypto-themed Trump merchandise, including US$100,000 watches and pricey sneakers.

Trump Media previously announced plans to hold a significant amount of bitcoin on its books as well as to create an exchange-traded fund tied to the prices of five popular cryptocurrencies.

World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company launched by Trump and his sons last year, has received significant boosts from an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates and Justin Sun, a China-born crypto entrepreneur. The Securities and Exchange Commission has paused a lawsuit it filed against Sun in 2023 alleging his company engaged in market manipulation and paid celebrities for undisclosed promotions.

A little-known firm called ALT5 Sigma recently announced it was planning to raise US$1.5 billion to buy the digital coins created by World Liberty Financial and that Eric Trump, the president’s son, is joining the company’s board.

Also on Tuesday, a firm called Canary Capital filed paperwork with the SEC seeking to sell an exchange-traded fund that will track the price of the president’s meme coin.

Alan Suderman, The Associated Press