Today, American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC) officially listed on Nasdaq. This company, co-founded by Eric Trump and closely related to the Trump family, staged a thrilling "capital roller coaster" on its first day of trading.

ABTC's Pump & Dump

Market data shows that ABTC surged over 110% at its peak during the opening, but ultimately closed up about 17%.

On that day, the stock was halted five times by Nasdaq within the first hour of trading due to extreme volatility, reaching highs of $14 before falling back to around $9.50, retracing more than half of its gains.

This trend typically exemplifies the "Pump and Dump" model: first, leveraging political exposure and enthusiasm in the capital market to inflate stock prices, then cashing out profits while ordinary investors are left holding the bag and suffering losses.

A Mysterious Transaction: From Mining Machine "Donation" to IPO

In late March this year, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. reached a deal with Hut 8, one of the largest publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies in the U.S., to establish a new entity called "American Bitcoin."

According to the agreement, Hut 8 donated all 61,000 of its mining machines to American Bitcoin. In return, Hut 8 received 80% of the shares in American Bitcoin.

The most puzzling aspect of this transaction is that the mining company gave up equipment it already fully owned, instead partnering with the Trump sons to obtain a smaller equity stake.

In response, Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, stated on social media: "I completely don't understand why Hut 8 would trade 61,000 mining machines for 80% of a subsidiary it already fully owned."

In this new company, Eric Trump serves as Chief Strategy Officer, and the company claims he brings "business acumen" and a commitment to a "decentralized financial system." Donald Trump Jr. was not listed in any executive position.

In the IPO, Gryphon Digital Mining acted as a "shell company," providing American Bitcoin with a platform to enter the core U.S. capital market. This merger provided a direct Nasdaq listing channel for the Trump family's entity, perfectly aligning with its $210 million financing plan. Additionally, the company holds 2,443 Bitcoins as corporate treasury reserves, adding weight to its financial narrative.

On the first day, Eric Trump publicly stated: "Our Nasdaq listing marks a historic milestone for Bitcoin entering the core of the U.S. capital market, and our mission is to make America the undisputed leader of the global Bitcoin economy." Donald Trump Jr. emphasized that the company "symbolizes freedom, transparency, and core values of independence."

However, the reality is that the core of all this narrative is ultimately a cash-out tool—dressed in the skin of Bitcoin faith, with capital arbitrage underneath.

WLFI: Another Script for Wealth Harvesting

Just a few days before ABTC's listing, another crypto bet by the Trump family, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), went live for trading. Its token WLFI briefly surged to $0.46 but then plummeted about 50%, closing around $0.22.

On the day of WLFI's listing, it brought about $5 billion in paper wealth growth to the Trump family, with trading volume reaching $1 billion in the first hour and the token's market cap nearing $7 billion. According to Reuters, the project has so far generated about $500 million in actual profits for the family.

The WLFI listing was not a simple issuance but involved a voting mechanism where early investors agreed in July to unlock their tokens for trading. The governance attributes of WLFI are more intriguing than its economic value—the official sources have not even clarified whether it includes rights or dividend distributions.

Political Halo + Retail Enthusiasm = Arbitrage Tool

The following table visually presents the differences in returns for investors of different identities on WLFI's first day:

Identity / Group

Cost Price Level

Listing Price (Approx.)

Return Situation

Retail Investors (Secondary Market Buyers)

$0.30–0.46

$0.22

Loss of 20%–50%

Ordinary Early Investors

$0.05

$0.22

About 4 times return

Core Insiders / Privileged Investors

$0.015–0.05

$0.22

Nearly 4–14 times return

It is not difficult to see:

• Retail investors, as "high-position buyers," became the main losers;
• Ordinary early investors made profits, but they were not the biggest winners;
• The privileged camp obtained overwhelming returns at extremely low costs, easily cashing out.

The core logic of this hype is:

• Narrative Packaging: From "American Bitcoin Economic Leader" to "Freedom and Transparency," each project is imbued with grand significance;
• Identity Exposure: Endorsements from Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. undoubtedly enhance project visibility and buying interest;
• Heat Building: Social media and mainstream media collaborate to hype, triggering retail FOMO (fear of missing out);
• Cashing Out: Amidst high enthusiasm, they complete their sell-off, leaving retail investors to bear the pressure at high positions.

The Trump family's crypto path is not accidental but leverages its political capital to establish a cross-cycle wealth map. For instance, WLFI not only has tokens but also stablecoins like USD1 and other supporting assets, while the internal holding ratio of the project is as high as 60–75%, indicating severe interest bundling.

Moreover, with billions of dollars in collaborations with allies like Abu Dhabi and Justin Sun, this cross-political cycle and cross-asset class capital deployment is not merely arbitrage but a kind of "institutional-level ATM."

When the revelry ends, the only ones left in the arena are those ordinary investors holding scraps, gazing at the candlestick charts—they have become the only "paying audience" of this show.

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