Eric Trump calls Forbes' report of American Bitcoin being a predatory arbitrage vehicle 'Chinese propaganda'

Eric Trump went after Forbes on X after the magazine ran a story on American Bitcoin (ABTC), the Trump-linked mining company now trading on the Nasdaq (NDAQ).

Eric said, “Forbes has become a political weapon and an embarrassment to journalism. This reads as politically motivated propaganda. Friends – educate yourselves as to the source of your information — in this case, China!”

Eric also said that American Bitcoin did not exist just over a year ago, but now holds more than 7,000 BTC. He said the company is the 16th largest publicly traded bitcoin company in the world, with nearly 90,000 miners, 28 exahash of capacity, and American energy behind its operations.

He also said the company grew its bitcoin balance by 58% in Q4, mined BTC at a 53% discount to the market price, and reported $78.3 million in Q4 revenue, up 22% from the prior quarter.

Forbes calls American Bitcoin a money laundering scheme with a twist

Forbes said Eric joined a February earnings call and pitched American Bitcoin as a fast-rising name in crypto. He said, “We are fast becoming the leader in the bitcoin world, and I truly think we have the greatest brand of all.” He also thanked Mike Ho, Asher Genoot, Matt Prusak, and “everybody at American Bitcoin.”

The magazine then pointed to a filing that said American Bitcoin had only two full-time employees one month after that call. Those two are likely Mike, the CEO, and Matt, the president. Mike also works at Hut 8 (HUT) as chief strategy officer.

A former investor-relations worker at one of Mike’s other companies now lists herself as chief of staff at American Bitcoin. Another worker says she became social media manager in January. Asher is executive chairman and sits on a five-person board with Mike and three independent directors.

When American Bitcoin hit public trading on Sept. 3, investors valued it at $13.2 billion, even though it had about $270 million in BTC. Since then, its diluted stock has fallen 92% from the top. Forbes estimated Eric’s wealth rose from $190 million to $280 million, while retail investors lost about $500 million.

Forbes tracks the share sales, bitcoin buys, mining costs, and foreign investor angle

The company started after the 2024 election. Two weeks after Trump defeated Kamala Harris, the company that became American Bitcoin was formed in Delaware. It first looked like an AI data-center plan.

Hussain Sajwani, the Dubai developer tied to the Trump family through a golf project, came to Mar-a-Lago and announced a $20 billion plan for U.S. data centers. Soon after, Eric and Don Trump Jr. backed American Data Centers, which Eric called “crucial for the development of AI infrastructure in the United States.”

One month later, the plan changed. Eric and Don Jr. connected with Asher and Mike, who already had Hut 8, a data-center and bitcoin-mining business. Bitcoin rewards had been cut by 50%, which made mining harder on the profit side.

Forbes said Asher and Mike gave the Trumps a 20% stake in mining equipment, while Hut 8 kept the sites, daily operations, back-office work, and some executives. Eric later told CoinDesk the name needed two words, “America” and “Bitcoin,” before the final name became American Bitcoin.

Eric has also said banking pressure pushed him into DeFi. He said, “I got canceled by every single bank in the country. Every single one of the big banks, they started canceling us.”

Forbes said Capital One (COF) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) closed some Trump accounts in 2021, but lenders still worked with the family. From January 2021 to mid-2022, Trump, Eric, and Don Jr. refinanced almost $700 million in debt.

Forbes said about 70% of American Bitcoin’s crypto came from selling shares and buying BTC, not from mining. In the first 27 days after listing, the company sold 11 million shares for $90 million, paid about $2 million in costs, and bought roughly 725 BTC.

From early October to mid-November 2025, it sold 7 million shares for $44 million, and in late November, it sold 47 million shares for about $106 million.

From Jan. 1 to March 25, American Bitcoin sold 84 million shares for $111 million and bought about 1,430 BTC, according to Forbes estimates, with total crypto buys at $525 million, now worth about $390 million, leaving a $135 million gap. Mining ran at about $47,000 per BTC before full costs, while the all-in cost sat near $90,000.

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