Money Grab/Sell Trump products from the White House
Eric Trump’s crypto miner lists on Nasdaq with his stake valued at $590M
American Bitcoin, co-founded by Eric Trump, began trading on Nasdaq as ABTC on September 3, 2025, after a stock-for-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. His stake, put at about $590 million at the first close, is a paper figure, not cash.
What happened
American Bitcoin was formed in March 2025 when Hut 8, a publicly traded miner, contributed most of its mining machines for an 80% stake. American Data Centers, an entity created by Dominari Holdings and backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., took 20%. Eric Trump became co-founder and chief strategy officer. In May it agreed to a stock-for-stock merger with Nasdaq-listed Gryphon Digital Mining; American Bitcoin holders got about 98% of the combined company.
On September 3, 2025, the stock began trading as ABTC, opened at $9.21, fell 17% in two minutes, then rose as much as 74% before closing at $8.04. Forbes estimated from SEC filings that Eric Trump held about 73 million shares, worth about $950 million at the peak and $590 million at the close, which briefly made him a billionaire on paper. The company held about 2,443 bitcoin.
By December 2025 the market value had fallen to about $2 billion and Forbes put his 7.3% stake near $160 million. The stake is a fluctuating paper figure, not realized income. It is logged as paper value and not counted as cash.
Who benefited
Eric Trump’s stake was valued at $590 million at the first close, and Donald Trump Jr. also holds shares through American Data Centers. Hut 8, the majority owner, now has a listed subsidiary carrying the president’s family name. Dominari Holdings created the Trump-side vehicle.
Who wanted something
No counterparty with business before the government appears in the record. Hut 8 got a Nasdaq listing and the Trump name for its mining assets. Gryphon shareholders got 2% of a much larger company. Public-market buyers supplied the debut-day demand.
Who lost out
Public investors who bought at the September 3, 2025 debut highs saw the stock fall back from its first-day close of $8.04. The company’s value fell by roughly three-quarters by December, to about $2 billion. No public money was involved.
Why it matters
The president’s family took a bitcoin-mining company public in a sector his administration is actively deregulating, and his son was a paper billionaire for an afternoon. The value of the family’s stake rises and falls with bitcoin and with policy his appointees set. The record logs the $590 million as paper value.
Sources PR Newswire (American Bitcoin) (primary)Forbes (via Forbes Colombia)Forbes (via Forbes Peru)Bitcoin MagazineThe Block