A bitcoin mining company founded by President Trump’s son Eric will go public this year, the company announced Monday, highlighting the Trump family’s interest in cryptocurrency.
American Bitcoin, which lists Eric Trump as a co-founder and has its roots in a company backed by Donald Trump Jr., is merging with publicly traded Gryphon Digital Mining. The all-stock transaction will allow the Trump brothers’ firm to list on the Nasdaq exchange. The merger is expected to be completed as early as the third quarter of this year.
According to an overview posted Monday, the company’s goals are to mine new bitcoin “below market cost” and accumulate a cryptocurrency reserve.
“Our vision for American Bitcoin is to create the most investable Bitcoin accumulation platform on the market,” Eric Trump said in a statement.
American Bitcoin was launched in March, with crypto mining firm Hut 8 holding the majority stake. At the time, the company stated that it “aims to become the world’s largest, most efficient pure-play Bitcoin miner.” It is the successor to American Data Centers, a venture funded by Eric Trump, his older brother Donald Trump Jr., and publicly traded Dominari Holdings.
Crypto mining has also received approval from Eric and Donald Trump Jr.’s father. Last year, the president promised to transform the United States into a “bitcoin mining powerhouse”.
What is bitcoin mining — and why is it controversial?
Mining is an essential component of how bitcoin works. The currency is not centralized, but rather relies on independent actors known as miners, who solve complex math problems to verify bitcoin transactions and record them on a public ledger known as a blockchain. Miners earn bitcoin as a reward for successfully crunching the numbers.
The value of a bitcoin is approximately $102,000, and the reward for mining decreases over time as the number of bitcoin in circulation increases, making mining a profitable venture.
However, mining is controversial because it is extremely energy-intensive, with miners running massive data centers filled with server racks that perform the mathematical operations required to mine. A Cambridge University team estimates that bitcoin consumes approximately 187.9 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, which is more than the entire country of Egypt.
Trump family’s crypto empire grows
The Trump brothers’ foray into bitcoin mining is the family’s latest cryptocurrency venture. The president and his two eldest sons support the cryptocurrency exchange World Liberty Financial, which received a multibillion-dollar boost earlier this month from an Abu Dhabi-based firm, and Mr. Trump launched a highly volatile “meme coin” called $TRUMP in January.
According to one report, the family’s cryptocurrency investments account for approximately $2.9 billion of its net worth.
The Trump family’s interest in cryptocurrency has sparked concerns about conflicts of interest. Last week, Senate Democrats stalled a crypto regulation bill and pushed for new restrictions on elected officials’ participation in certain types of crypto ventures, with Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts accusing President Trump of “crypto corruption.”
The White House has responded to the criticism. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated last week that Mr. Trump’s “assets are in a trust managed by his children, and there are no conflicts of interest.”