Trump Media announces Bitcoin and ETFs expansion, stock surges

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is moving into crypto and ETFs with a new financial services division called Truth.Fi, the company announced on Jan. 29.

Shares of DJT, TMTG’s publicly traded stock, jumped 9% in morning trading after the news. The company is putting $250 million into the venture, with Charles Schwab handling custody.

Donald Trump indirectly holds 114,750,000 shares in the company through a revocable trust. That stake ties him directly to the performance of DJT, which has been volatile since TMTG went public.

Truth.Fi to roll out crypto and patriot-focused ETFs

TMTG says Truth.Fi will launch later this year, but the company has not provided specifics on which funds or tokens will be part of the lineup. In a statement, CEO Devin Nunes said, “We began with a free-speech social media platform, added ultra-fast TV streaming, and now we’re entering decentralized finance.” He added that:

“Truth.Fi is a natural expansion of the Truth Social movement […]. Developing American First investment vehicles is another step toward our goal of creating a robust ecosystem through which American patriots can protect themselves from the ever-present threat of cancellation, censorship, debanking, and privacy violations committed by Big Tech and woke corporations.”

The announcement comes at a time when some conservatives along with the crypto industry claim they are being denied banking services.

During a virtual appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, Trump called out Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, accusing the bank of shutting out conservative customers.

“I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives because many conservatives complain that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank, and that included a place called Bank of America,” Trump said.

He also slammed Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, saying, “You and Jamie and everybody, I hope you’re going to open your banks to conservatives because what you’re doing is wrong.”

The timing of Truth.Fi aligns with the launch of Trump’s meme coin, which happened two days before the inauguration and has generated billions of dollars in on-paper gains for the Trump Organization and its affiliates. The token has seen heavy trading volumes, but ended up shedding 70% of its value after the First Lady launched her own meme coin, MELANIA.

As of January 29, multiple online stores selling Trump-branded watches, sneakers, and colognes now accept TRUMP, Bitcoin, and credit cards. Websites like GetTrumpWatches.com, GetTrumpFragrances.com, and GetTrumpSneakers.com have started accepting payments in the meme coin.

Meanwhile, TMTG’s expansion into finance puts it on a collision course with Elon Musk’s X, which just announced a partnership with Visa to expand its financial services, as Cryptopolitan reported yesterday.

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