Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

Author | Golem ( @web3_golem )

The Trump family's crypto empire has added a new star. On September 3rd, American Bitcoin (NASDAQ: ABTC), a Bitcoin mining company affiliated with the Trump family, was listed on the Nasdaq through an equity swap and merger with Gryphon Digital Mining, a US-listed company. On its first day of trading, the stock price hit the daily limit three times in a row, reaching an intraday high of $14.52. Trump's two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are shareholders in the company. According to Reuters, the brothers hold approximately 20% of the shares, currently valued at $1.5 billion.

American Bitcoin aims to surpass Strategy

After American Bitcoin went public, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, announced his ambition to build the largest Bitcoin reserve in the United States . This implicitly implies a goal to surpass Strategy, the current US public company with the largest Bitcoin reserves. According to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net , American Bitcoin currently holds 2,443 Bitcoins, ranking 25th among US listed companies. It would need to purchase over 634,000 Bitcoins (worth over $70 billion) to catch up with Strategy.

According to its official website, American Bitcoin is a company focused on low-cost mining and accumulation of Bitcoin. American Bitcoin President Matt Pruask stated that to achieve this goal, the company will implement a three-tiered strategy :

• Build the engine to operate a cost-effective mining platform to mine Bitcoin at below market cost;
• Expanding reserves, leveraging access to capital markets to develop and manage a strategic Bitcoin reserve;
• Lead the ecosystem and expand the influence of the Bitcoin economy to the BTC ecosystem through products that accelerate adoption, partnerships and other initiatives.

American Bitcoin is primarily a mining company. Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 provides it with advanced ASIC technology and customized data centers, enabling rapid and cost-effective expansion. With Hut 8's technical support, American Bitcoin only needs to purchase mining machines. In August, American Bitcoin purchased 16,299 Antminer U 3 S 21 EXPH units from Bitmain, generating a total hashrate of 14.02 EH/s and generating approximately $314 million in sales. On September 3rd, American Bitcoin also planned to apply for an at-the-market stock offering to raise up to $2.1 billion to purchase mining machines.

" Right now, our cost of mining Bitcoin is about 50% of its actual price . We have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fixed assets and data centers as a backing... While others have to buy Bitcoin at market price, we can mine Bitcoin at a price significantly below market price," Eric Trump said on September 3rd about American Bitcoin's advantages in mining.

Essentially, American Bitcoin's approach to Bitcoin mining is similar to that of Cango, the second-largest publicly listed Bitcoin mining company in terms of hashrate: mining Bitcoin at low cost and holding it (Related Reading: Finding Potential US Crypto Stocks: How Cango Transformed from a Car Company to the World's Second-Largest Bitcoin Miner ) . However, American Bitcoin is more aggressive. In addition to mining and holding Bitcoin, to achieve its goals quickly, American Bitcoin will also expand its reserves through purchases. In August, the Financial Times revealed that American Bitcoin was planning to acquire a publicly listed company in Japan to build a Bitcoin treasury. Given co-founder Eric Trump's recent frequent travels in Hong Kong and Japan, this rumor is highly credible.

Eric Trump, the Great Spokesperson

Eric Trump is not only the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of American Bitcoin, but also its spokesperson. While Eric Trump's original statement was, "I've become one of the great spokespersons for cryptocurrency," it's clear that he often incorporates his own personal message into every public speech, and it's quite effective. After American Bitcoin's successful IPO, Eric Trump retweeted a tweet from the company , stating that he had "invested tremendous passion and energy into this project over the past 12 months."

How did American Bitcoin and Eric Trump become connected? It all started with a pizza night. Early in his presidency, Trump hosted a pizza night at the Trump Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. That evening, Asher Genoot, CEO of the Bitcoin mining company Hut 8, met with Eric Trump and spent several hours chatting. As a result of this conversation, Genoot persuaded Eric Trump to form a Bitcoin mining company, and on April 1, 2025, American Bitcoin was established.

After the company was established, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest of Trump's sons, and Eric Trump, the second-youngest son, along with mining company Hut 8 , collectively held a 98% stake in American Bitcoin . However, according to documents disclosed by American Bitcoin to the SEC, American Bitcoin is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hut 8, which holds 585,779,924 Class B common shares and 80% of the voting rights.

Obviously, in this resource allocation, Hut 8 is responsible for technology and company operations, while Eric Trump plays the role of spokesperson for attracting investment.

"In the competitive Bitcoin mining industry, there are few ways to stand out. Having the president's son co-found a company is one of them," said Will Foxley, co-founder of Blockspace Media. But it turns out that Eric Trump did a good job.

Eric Trump brought numerous capital market connections to American Bitcoin. "Eric can connect with numerous potential partners with just one phone call," said Matt Prusak, CEO of American Bitcoin, emphasizing Eric's close relationships with large family offices and institutions. Furthermore, the Trump family name provided American Bitcoin with considerable narrative value and free exposure, as evidenced by its stock price performance on its first day of trading.

In an interview at the blockchain conference Consensus in May, Eric said, “Like all Trump family businesses, American Bitcoin aims to become an industry giant.” With a presidential father, anything he does is bound to succeed.

What do the Trump family want from American energy?

The Trump family's crypto empire already includes DeFI, stablecoins, meme coins, crypto reserves, and cryptocurrency stocks. The addition of American Bitcoin has extended its reach to the U.S. energy industry.

The Trump administration has long pursued an "America Energy First" policy, prioritizing the development of domestic energy (particularly fossil fuels and nuclear energy) and encouraging private and state-level energy projects through taxation and subsidies. This policy has indirectly reduced the barriers and costs for American miners to expand and operate. In fact, in June 2024, Trump met with several of the largest mining farm owners in the United States during a campaign event at Mar-a-Lago to discuss how the United States could become the leading Bitcoin mining country . In other words, this was intended to gain their political support.

This is a period of great opportunity for the mining industry, and as the saying goes, "fat water stays in the fields of outsiders," the Trump family can certainly enter this industry and reap the profits. Furthermore, if the Trump family establishes a foothold in the energy industry through Bitcoin mining companies, it will in turn provide a key support for Trump.

Eric has repeatedly stated that the founding of the WLFI project stemmed from the hostility of traditional banks towards his family. After Trump's first term, hundreds of his family's bank accounts in the United States were closed overnight. Trump himself has also stated that banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America discriminated against him. If WLFI secures a foothold in American finance through cryptocurrencies, a similar situation will not occur again, even if Trump loses the next election.

Clearly, throughout this term, the Trump family, young and old, has been actively capitalizing on the president's aura, personally investing in key sectors (particularly infrastructure, finance, technology, social media, energy, real estate, etc.), attempting to maintain a firm grip on power. This way, even if the political aura fades, the established business foundations, resources, and foundation will safeguard the family's glory.