Trump’s Bitcoin Firm: Wait, What? A Public Offering, Seriously?

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So, apparently, American Bitcoin, a Trump-backed mining firm, is going public. How, you ask? Well, by merging with Gryphon Digital Mining. Yup, this is happening. It’s like a Trump family reunion, but with crypto instead of awkward holiday dinners.

But hold on, folks—there are still some *major* question marks hanging around. What’s Gryphon really bringing to the table here? Aside from their name, which let’s face it, isn’t doing anyone any favors, the stock price soared 200% since the announcement. Someone’s clearly enjoying the ride, and it’s not us.

Trump’s Sons, Crypto, and… More Crypto

Since launching his meme coin—because, of course—Trump and his family have been dabbling in just about every corner of the crypto world. WLFI? Check. USD1 stablecoin? Check. And now Bitcoin mining? Oh, absolutely.

Eric and Don Jr. have been running around like headless chickens, investing in GameFi, construction projects, and whatever else they can think of. In late March, they teamed up with Hut 8 to launch their very own Bitcoin mining firm. Guess what? It’s going public. Hold onto your wallets.

According to the press release (aka the thing that doesn’t really tell you much), American Bitcoin is merging with Gryphon, which somehow doesn’t involve the Trump brothers *that* much. Eric’s there—he’s on the management team. But, surprise! No IPO details. Apparently, the deal will be done by Q3. Stay tuned, I guess.

Two big Bitcoin-holding reverse mergers announced this morning:

Eric Trump’s American Bitcoin will reverse merge into Gryphon Digital Mining $GRYP and will trade as $ABTC upon closing. Image from the presentation attached

While, David Bailey’s Nakamoto will reverse merge into…

— ListingTrack (@listingtrack) May 12, 2025

The new company will be fully run by American Bitcoin’s team. So, don’t worry, Gryphon Digital Mining is just hanging out in the back. Everyone in the leadership team had a top role at Hut 8. Because, obviously, who wouldn’t want that kind of experience?

American Bitcoin keeps the name, and guess what? It’ll trade under the charmingly subtle ticker symbol $ABTC. Really makes you think, huh?

The merger announcement itself is a little… let’s say, vague. Not much to say about the mining business, except that Hut 8 will be handling the “infrastructure and operations.” Translation: Don’t look too closely.

Here’s a gem of a quote from Asher Genoot, Hut 8’s CEO:

“This transaction marks the next step in scaling American Bitcoin as a purpose-built vehicle for low-cost Bitcoin accumulation at scale. By taking American Bitcoin public, we expect to unlock direct access to dedicated growth capital independent of Hut 8’s balance sheet, while preserving long-term exposure to Bitcoin upside for our shareholders,” he said.

In case you missed it, mining profits in the U.S. are, let’s just say, not exactly booming. Hut 8 is struggling. They posted a 58.1% drop in revenue and a net loss of $134 million in Q1 2025. But hey, Genoot thinks this is all part of some “deliberate and necessary phase of investment.” I’m sure it is. Sure.

Now, with the Trump brothers involved, maybe Hut 8 can turn things around. Nearly 98% of the merged company’s stock will go to holders of the preexisting subsidiary. And by “holders,” I mean the people who have the patience to deal with this.

Hut 8 owns 80% of American Bitcoin’s shares, so they’re clearly in a good spot to leverage that Trump name for a little extra hype. You know, because who doesn’t want to get in on a Bitcoin mining company backed by the Trumps?

Now, Gryphon. What’s their deal? They’re just kind of there, apparently. They’re doing a “stock-for-stock merger transaction,” which… doesn’t really tell us much. According to their press release, their stockholders are “expected to own approximately 2% of the combined company.” But don’t worry, their stock price still shot up 200%. So, it’s all good, I guess.

Over social media, Gryphon’s merger announcement raised a lot of eyebrows. People are *very* skeptical about this whole thing. Can’t blame them.

So, what’s next for American Bitcoin and its Trump-backed adventure into the world of public trading? Who knows. I’m sure more “details” will pop up as the deal gets closer to closing. Or, you know, maybe not. We’ll see.

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2025-05-12 21:23