Trump-backed American Bitcoin mining firm to start trading on Nasdaq today

Ben Weiss is a crypto

A Bitcoin mining company backed

American Bitcoin is a joint venture between Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Hut 8, another Bitcoin mining firm. To create the Trump-backed Bitcoin mining company, Hut 8 contributed the vast majority of its Bitcoin mining ASICs, or specially designed computer chips, in exchange for 80% of the new company’s stock. Hut 8 will focus its remaining operations on building out its data center business, which includes hosting computer chips to power AI.

To get American Bitcoin to the public markets quickly, the Trumps and Hut 8 negotiated an all-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining, yet another Bitcoin mining company. As part of the deal, American Bitcoin sold privately issued stock to raise $220 million.

Eric Trump has pitched his new Bitcoin mining company as a means for investors to gain exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency. “I think ultimately it will become a Bitcoin proxy,” he previously told Fortune. “There’s no doubt about it.”

In addition to American Bitcoin, the Trump family’s increasingly complex crypto empire includes a cryptocurrency, stablecoin, memecoins, NFTs, publicly traded companies, and a forthcoming application for crypto lending and borrowing.

Their efforts have netted them serious cash. 

On Monday, the token connected to World Liberty Financial, another crypto project backed

That was soon followed

The accelerating sprawl of the Trump crypto empire has raised alarm bells among ethicists and Democrats, who argue that the crypto ventures provide would-be influence peddlers a direct means of lining the 47th president’s pockets. Eric Trump has previously disputed those allegations and said he doesn’t talk with his father about his business ventures.