The bet by Eric Trump on bitcoin leads to a loss of 600 million dollars from the family fortune, as the company American Bitcoin Corp., of which he is a co-founder, experiences a deep decline. The company was built around the idea that owning and mining bitcoins would be enough to generate profits.
Shares of American Bitcoin Corp. have fallen by more than 95% from their peak, which, according to Bloomberg calculations, wiped out more than 600 million dollars in market value of Eric Trump’s stake over the past 10 months. This week, the company was forced to conduct a reverse stock split at a ratio of 1 to 15 to maintain its Nasdaq listing. On Wednesday, its stock price reached an all-time low.
This turnaround illustrates how quickly investors have become disillusioned with companies focused solely on crypto assets. Success is no longer determined by who can produce the most bitcoins, but by who has the flexibility to monetize their electricity, land, and computing infrastructure. American Bitcoin Corp.’s struggles also demonstrate the volatile nature of the Trump family’s investments in digital assets.
Although President Donald Trump reported at least 1.4 billion dollars in revenue from cryptocurrencies last year in his latest financial disclosure, many retail investors have suffered as Trump-related tokens and American Bitcoin Corp. shares have plummeted. Eric Trump owns approximately 6% of American Bitcoin Corp. and serves as the chief strategy officer. The stake of advisor Donald Trump Jr. is not disclosed.
Strategy shift amid AI boom
American Bitcoin Corp. was initially founded as American Data Centers Inc., an enterprise supported by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. It was created by the investment bank Dominari Holdings Inc., advised by Trump, in February 2025 with the aim of building a portfolio of data processing centers. At the time, Eric Trump stated that it was “critical for the development of AI infrastructure in the United States.”
However, just a month later, the company changed course, striking a deal to acquire mining equipment from Hut 8 Corp. in exchange for an equity stake and an exclusive service agreement. The renamed American Bitcoin Corp. then merged with the already public mining company Gryphon Digital Mining Inc. and began trading on Nasdaq in early September. The stock price peaked after five trading days, closing at a high of 139.65 dollars on September 9.
As crypto asset prices have fallen over the past nine months, investors have rewarded other miners in the U.S. for leasing their computing infrastructure for AI. Companies Riot Platforms Inc., Cipher Digital Inc., MARA Holdings Inc., and TeraWulf Inc. have announced deals to expand into data processing centers. Their stocks have risen by an average of more than 60% this year, while American Bitcoin Corp. shares have fallen by 77%.
“Every company in my coverage is moving towards high-performance computing,” noted John Todaro, an analyst at Needham & Co. However, American Bitcoin Corp. has remained committed to the strategy of mining and accumulating bitcoins. The company may not have much choice, as its main assets are mining facilities and bitcoin assets.
Electricity, sites, hosting infrastructure, and daily mining operations are provided by Hut 8 Corp., the majority owner of American Bitcoin Corp., under exclusive service agreements. This leaves most of the AI data center opportunities to Hut 8 Corp., which is actively pursuing this strategy through rebranding around energy infrastructure and billion-dollar AI data center lease deals. Hut 8 Corp. shares have more than doubled this year.
Bitcoin accumulation strategy
Instead of viewing bitcoin mining as a stepping stone to AI infrastructure, American Bitcoin Corp. executives argue that the cryptocurrency itself will ultimately yield the highest profits, and that accumulating it during downturns will create more value than reallocating capital to other areas. The company also believes that the industry’s shift to AI could strengthen its position over time.
As competitors redirect energy and capital to data centers, fewer machines remain dedicated to securing the bitcoin network, reducing mining difficulty and increasing the number of bitcoins available to those who remain. Thus, the AI boom may also provide a chance to gain a larger share of bitcoin rewards. “We are seeing hundreds of megawatts from leading public miners switching to AI,” stated CEO Mike Ho during the first-quarter earnings report, adding that this “led to a network difficulty drop of about 6% this quarter.”
American Bitcoin Corp. does not plan to sell its assets. Eric Trump stated in a recent podcast that any reasons for doing so would have to be “more than catastrophic.” In fact, the company continues to buy the token on the market, adding another 500 bitcoins on Monday.
In the first quarter, the company recorded an operating loss of 118.2 million dollars after writing down its bitcoin assets by 117.2 million dollars. Many investors believe that the price of bitcoin is near the bottom of this cycle. If it recovers, American Bitcoin Corp.’s focus on cryptocurrency may eventually pay off, especially since competitors that have shifted focus will not be able to easily return to this space.
“In terms of fleet efficiency, fleet size, and ability to produce bitcoins, the company is very well positioned,” said Mark Palmer, an analyst at Benchmark Co., adding: “The problem, of course, is that the price of bitcoin needs to rise for the business model to work.” This message was promoted by Eric Trump in April, stating at the Bitcoin Conference 2026 in Las Vegas: “We are in the best period in the history of the crypto industry. Just hold on, guys, just hold on.”
Source: Bloomberg
