American Bitcoin, the mining and treasury company co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., added more than 1,400 Bitcoin to its holdings.
According to a Monday announcement, American Bitcoin acquired 1,414 Bitcoin (BTC) for about $163 million. This brought the total holdings to 3,865 BTC, worth almost $445 million.
Eric Trump, who serves as chief strategy officer, said the company is focused on increasing its Bitcoin-per-share ratio, a metric it considers central to shareholder value. âWe believe one of the most important measures of success for a Bitcoin accumulation platform is how much Bitcoin backs each share,â he said.
The company sprang to life in March when mining firm Hut 8 acquired a majority stake in it in exchange for Hut 8âs Bitcoin mining hardware.
Related: CZâs pardon came after costly Binance lobbying push in Washington: Politico
American Bitcoinâs rapid rise
The announcement followed American Bitcoinâs public listing on the Nasdaq exchange in early September, with the company closing its choppy first day up over 16%. Still, its trading was halted five times amid heightened price volatility on the day, with the share price surging by 85% intraday.
The listing followed a late August merger with Gryphon Digital Mining, a publicly traded Bitcoin miner based in Las Vegas. Shareholders approved the stock-for-stock merger, which led the company to begin trading under the ticker symbol âABTCâ while retaining the American Bitcoin name.
The listing was preceded by a 230% spike in Gryphonâs stock, which rallied ahead of the mergerâs completion.
Related: Trump to nominate SEC’s âpro-cryptoâ Michael Selig as CFTC chair: Report
Political ties and growing scrutiny
President Trumpâs increasing engagement with digital assets, both as a policymaker and investor, has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers. His recent pardon of Binance founder Changpeng âCZâ Zhao, who pleaded guilty to violating US Anti-Money Laundering laws, reignited accusations of corruption and conflicts of interest.
Democratic Representative Maxine Waters described the decision as âan appalling but unsurprising reflection of his presidencyâ and said that Trump is âdoing massive favors for crypto criminals.â She also accused him of corruption and of leveraging the presidency to gain personal wealth.
The statements follow analysis finding that Trumpâs second term in office has coincided with an extraordinary increase in his personal wealth. Trumpâs family has been open about its growing fortune. Eric Trump recently told supporters that the familyâs profits from its digital asset ventures were âprobably moreâ than the $1 billion reported.
Magazine: Quitting Trumpâs top crypto job wasnât easy: Bo Hines
