Trump Media Is Launching Another Crypto Play. The Stock Is Up. — Barrons.com

By Nate Wolf

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group took off on Tuesday after the parent of Truth Social announced two partnerships with Crypto.com, the latest in a series of crypto-related endeavors.

Truth Social and the Truth+ streaming platform will now allow users to convert rewards for participating on the platforms into Cronos digital tokens through Crypto.com's digital-wallet infrastructure, the companies said.

As part of the deal, Trump Media will purchase around $105 million in CRO, and Crypto.com will purchase $50 million in shares of common stock in Trump Media.

President Donald Trump and his family are Trump Media's largest shareholders. The stock, whose ticker symbol is the president's initials, DJT, was up 4.7% in morning trading. Cronos tokens were 6.2% higher.

In a separate transaction, Trump Media, Crypto.com, and the special purpose acquisition company Yorkville Acquisition Corp. will establish a new digital asset treasury company called Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, which will be focused on acquiring Cronos. The trio will apply to have the new venture's Class A ordinary shares trade on Nasdaq under the symbol "MCGA."

Funding for the company will consist of $1 billion in Cronos, $200 million in cash, $220 million in cash-in mandatory exercise warrants, and a $5 billion equity line of credit from a Yorkville affiliate.

"We continue to be bullish on cryptocurrency," said Trump Media CEO and former Republican congressman Devin Nunes. "We are excited to be partnering with a leading global cryptocurrency platform and namesake of its industry in Crypto.com and one of the most sophisticated investor groups in Yorkville for this strategic initiative."

Tuesday's moves are among the many crypto-related strategies and partnerships the company has pursued as it attempts to chart a path toward profitability. The company posted a net loss of $400.9 million in 2024, with revenue of $3.6 million.

In May, Trump Media closed a deal to sell $2.4 billion in common stock and convertible bonds to fund a Bitcoin treasury, similar to the corporate treasury playbook pioneered by Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy. Bitcoin holdings are now by far the largest asset on the company's $3.2 billion balance sheet.

Trump Media has also applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch multiple cryptocurrency ETFs. As Barron's reported earlier this month , defendants in a lawsuit filed by Trump Media in federal district court in Sarasota, Fla. are pursuing information from SEC chair Paul Atkins about his former consulting firm's dealings with Trump Media.

Trump Media said it hadn't engaged Atkins' firm, Patomak Global Partners. An SEC spokesperson said Atkins is complying with ethics rules he agreed to during his Senate confirmation process.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com

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