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The Trump family media company is seeking to launch a bitcoin exchange traded fund in its latest push to capitalise on surging enthusiasm for digital currencies.
Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs the president’s preferred social media app Truth Social, announced on Thursday that it had filed an application with US regulators to create the “Truth Social Bitcoin ETF”.
The ETF will be operated by Florida-based Yorkville America Digital — an “America-first asset management firm” — and will hold bitcoin directly, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If approved, shares in the fund will be listed on NYSE Arca, an ETF exchange.
Shares in TMTG, which trades under the ticker DJT, fell 8 per cent Thursday. Its losses accelerated in the afternoon as the president publicly feuded with Elon Musk.
The ETF’s launch comes as the price of bitcoin has in recent weeks climbed above $100,000 amid a wave of optimism that the Trump administration is set on creating a digital asset-friendly regulatory framework to fulfil the president’s goal to make the US the “crypto capital of the world”.
But it joins a crowded field. There are dozens of spot bitcoin funds including a $69bn BlackRock fund that was among the first of its kind to debut when it launched in January 2024.
Trump, who once said bitcoin “seems like a scam”, has repeatedly touted his $TRUMP memecoin and this month hosted a gala dinner for its biggest holders, sparking waves of concern about potential conflicts of interest.
Within days of entering the White House Trump moved to revoke Biden-era policies aimed at curtailing crypto risk, while the SEC — now run by crypto advocate Paul Atkins — has dropped several cases against crypto firms.
In late May, TMTG said it would raise $1.5bn in fresh equity and another $1bn through convertible bonds, the proceeds of which will be used to create a “bitcoin treasury”.
A week later, the president’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr told a bitcoin conference in Las Vegas that transacting with cryptocurrencies was “cheaper”, “faster”, “safer” and “more transparent” than fiat currencies.
“We’re very long crypto,” said Trump Jr., who sits on the board of TMTG. “It’s a huge part of everything that we do right now.”
On Tuesday, he distanced himself and his family from the launch of a Trump-themed bitcoin trading app, writing on social media site X that the Trump Organization “has zero involvement” with that product. But he added that World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company backed by Trump and his sons, “will be launching our official wallet soon”.
In addition to BlackRock, Fidelity and Bitwise also operate sizeable bitcoin ETF products that have gained the trust of the institutional investment community, said Dave Nadig, an independent ETF expert.
“I think it’s extraordinarily unlikely that products like [Truth Social Bitcoin ETF] gain long-term assets,” Nadig said.
