Donald Trump’a media company has announced plans to establish a bitcoin reserve by selling $2.5 billion (£1.85bn) of its stock to institutional investors.
The Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social platform, said about 50 institutional investors will put up $1.5 billion in the private placement for common shares in the company and another $1 billion for convertible senior notes
Trump Media said it intends to use the proceeds for the creation of a “bitcoin treasury”, with chief executive Devin Nunes describing the cryptocurrency as “an apex instrument of financial freedom”.
He added: “Trump Media will hold cryptocurrency as a crucial part of our assets.”
Industry figures have said the move reflects bitcoin’s transition from a fringe asset, to one endorsed by the highest levels of government.
“Trump Media raising $2.5bn to buy bitcoin reflects a broader trend: publicly traded companies are waking up to the idea that holding debasable dollars is a liability – and bitcoin, money that cannot be debased, is the solution,” Joe Burnett, director of market research at crypto firm Unchained, told The Independent.
The announcement is the latest potential conflict of interest, which has seen Trump pursuing policies while in public office that may financially benefit his business interests.
Trump, who referred to cryptocurrencies in his first term as “not money,” citing volatility and a value "based on thin air," has shifted his views on the technology.
During an event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida during his presidential campaign in May 2024, Trump received assurances that crypto industry backers would spend lavishly to get him reelected.
Last week, Trump rewarded 220 of the top investors in one of his other cryptocurrency projects – the $Trump meme coin – with a swanky dinner luxury golf club in Northern Virginia, spurring accusations that the president was mixing his duties in the White House with personal profit.
Trump has received significant support from the crypto industry since appearing at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville last July, during which he pledged to be the first “crypto president”.
Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Additional reporting from agencies
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