Bitcoin News Today: Trump’s Crypto Empire Rises as ABTC Debuts and WLFI Gains Traction

American Bitcoin, a Bitcoin accumulation platform backed by Donald Trump's sons, Eric and Donald Jr., began trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday under the ticker symbol ABTC following a stock-for-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. The company, originally launched as a subsidiary of publicly traded Hut 8, has a mission to make the U.S. the leading global Bitcoin economy by integrating mining operations with strategic Bitcoin purchases. The stock surged over 80% in early trading before settling to a 16.52% increase by the close of the day [1]. Eric Trump described the Nasdaq debut as a “historic milestone” in integrating Bitcoin into U.S. capital markets [1].

American Bitcoin’s business model leverages Hut 8’s existing infrastructure to mine Bitcoin at a lower cost than market prices, giving it a structural advantage over other accumulation platforms. The company utilizes Hut 8’s energy and digital infrastructure to mine Bitcoin without the need for large capital expenditures on data centers. This model is designed to enhance operational efficiency and maximize Bitcoin-per-share growth. By Q2 2025, the company had 9.3 EH/s of computing power online, with an additional 14-15 EH/s expected from new Antminers [3].

The Trump family, through their ownership stake in American Bitcoin, controls 98% of the company’s shares [1]. This substantial ownership positions the Trumps to benefit directly from the company’s success. Additionally, the Trumps have another major exposure to the crypto market through World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a token-based project in which they own approximately 22.5 billion tokens—roughly a quarter of the total supply. At a value of around $0.22 per token, the family’s holding is worth approximately $4.8 billion [1].

World Liberty Financial, which launched its token on crypto exchanges in early September, experienced a volatile first week. The token briefly spiked to $0.40 before settling around $0.22. While early investors were permitted to sell up to 20% of their holdings, the Trump family's tokens remain locked and cannot be sold, at least for now. The project has drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts, who have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest, given the Trumps' regulatory influence over the crypto industry [4].

Bitcoin’s price also saw gains on the day American Bitcoin debuted, reaching $111,500 per coin and rising 19% year to date. This upward trend has coincided with the broader normalization of Bitcoin in traditional financial markets, as public companies like American Bitcoin increasingly offer institutional-grade exposure to the digital asset. Analysts suggest that the growing institutional interest in crypto, coupled with supportive regulatory signals from the Trump administration, could further accelerate Bitcoin’s integration into global capital markets [1].

The Trump family’s forays into the crypto space have been part of a broader strategy to position the U.S. as the global crypto capital. This aligns with the administration’s regulatory stance, which has signaled a more hands-off approach compared to the Biden administration. However, this has also drawn criticism from the media and opposition lawmakers, who argue that the family’s financial interests conflict with their regulatory roles. The White House has consistently denied these allegations, maintaining that no conflicts of interest exist [4].

Source:

[1] American Bitcoin listed on the Nasdaq - Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-bitcoin-listed-on-the-nasdaq-141359159.html)

[2] American Bitcoin Debuts on Nasdaq as "ABTC" (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-bitcoin-debuts-on-nasdaq-as-abtc-302544577.html)

[3] American Bitcoin debuts on Nasdaq with 80% gain following ... (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-bitcoin-debuts-nasdaq-gryphon-125159577.html)

[4] Trump and sons' stake in crypto firm worth $5bn (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgjgyyqgvyo)

[5] Trump family profits from launch of World Liberty Financial ... (https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-family-profits-launch-world-liberty-financial-crypto/story?id=125179318)

[6] Trump fortune balloons by billions after family firm's crypto ... (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/02/trump-world-liberty-financial-cryptocurrency)