The Trump family’s growing stake in the cryptocurrency world took a major leap Monday as American Bitcoin, a mining firm co-founded by Eric Trump, announced it will go public through a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.
The all-stock deal, expected to close by the third quarter of this year, will allow American Bitcoin to be listed on the Nasdaq, further solidifying the Trump family’s influence in the digital currency arena. The company’s stated mission is to mine bitcoin “below market cost” while amassing a reserve of the high-value cryptocurrency.
“Our vision for American Bitcoin is to create the most investable Bitcoin accumulation platform in the market,” Eric Trump said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Launched in March, American Bitcoin is majority-owned by mining giant Hut 8 and is a successor to American Data Centers, a venture tied to both Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., along with Dominari Holdings, a publicly traded company. The endeavor adds to the Trump brothers’ expanding crypto footprint, alongside their involvement in World Liberty Financial, a Trump-backed crypto exchange recently buoyed by a multi-billion dollar investment from an Abu Dhabi-based firm.
President Donald Trump himself has endorsed cryptocurrency, pledging last year to make the U.S. a “bitcoin mining powerhouse.” The family’s net worth now includes an estimated $2.9 billion in crypto assets, according to recent reports.
But the crypto gold rush is not without controversy.
Bitcoin mining, which underpins the decentralized nature of the currency, involves solving complex mathematical problems to verify transactions on the blockchain. Successful miners are rewarded with bitcoin, currently valued around $102,000 per coin. However, the process is notoriously energy-intensive. A study from Cambridge University estimates the bitcoin network consumes around 187.9 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, more than the entire country of Egypt.
Environmental concerns aside, ethical and legal questions loom over the Trump family’s crypto ventures. Critics warn of potential conflicts of interest, particularly with Donald Trump’s ongoing political aspirations. Last week, Senate Democrats stalled a cryptocurrency regulation bill, with calls for tighter restrictions on political figures engaging in crypto dealings. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) accused the former president of “crypto corruption.”
In response, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the president’s position, stating, “Mr. Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children, and there are no conflicts of interest.”
Still, the Trump family’s crypto expansion continues to raise eyebrows. From a volatile meme coin dubbed $TRUMP to now backing what they hope becomes the world’s largest bitcoin miner, the Trump brand is embedding itself deeply into the high-stakes world of digital currency and not without controversy.
