Written by: Bao Yilong, Wall Street Journal

American Bitcoin once again records a quarterly loss, as the bear market in the crypto market continues to erode its asset value, forcing the company to implement a share consolidation to maintain its listing status on Nasdaq.

On Monday, August 3, the Bitcoin miner founded with the involvement of the Trump family, American Bitcoin, announced a net loss of 57 million dollars in the second quarter, translating to a loss of 80 cents per share, marking its third consecutive quarter of losses.

Although the quarterly loss has narrowed from 82 million dollars in the previous quarter, and revenue increased slightly from 62 million dollars to 67 million dollars, the ongoing bear market has caused the company’s stock price to drop approximately 95% from its peak at listing.

During the same period, the price of Bitcoin fell by 14%, directly dragging down the value of the company’s holdings.

In July this year, the company was forced to implement a 1-for-15 share consolidation to maintain its listing eligibility on Nasdaq. On Monday, the stock opened down about 3.3%, later rebounding along with the broader market, rising nearly 8% at one point.

Under Bear Market Pressure, Mining Companies Stick to Bitcoin

American Bitcoin was co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., headquartered in Miami, and is one of the few listed companies in the crypto industry that continues to focus exclusively on Bitcoin mining.

In the current context where the industry is generally transitioning towards artificial intelligence infrastructure services, the company has chosen to maintain its pure mining positioning.

Eric Trump, the Chief Strategy Officer, stated in a conference call following the earnings release: Bitcoin never moves in a straight line, and we never assumed it would when we built this company. We understand the resistance this industry is facing this year, but our belief has not changed.

As of June 30, the company's Bitcoin holdings were approximately 8,000 coins, an increase of about 14% from the first quarter. However, the spot price of Bitcoin reported around 63,150 dollars on Monday, down about 45% from a year earlier, continuously suppressing the company's asset valuation.

Distancing from 'Digital Asset Treasury Companies', Emphasizing Mining Cost Advantage

Since the surge in Bitcoin prices after the U.S. presidential election, many companies have announced that they identify as 'digital asset treasury companies', competing to purchase Bitcoin.

Although American Bitcoin is also categorized within this camp by the market, Eric Trump has clearly expressed his discontent regarding this. He said: What frustrates me is that we are categorized alongside treasury companies, which are stagnant and can only buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at market prices, fundamentally different from us. Our advantage is that we are not buying at market prices; our mining costs are about half of the market price.

The company stated that despite facing market headwinds, its mining operational efficiency continues to improve, and its computing power scale is also expanding.

Part of the Trump Family's Crypto Landscape

American Bitcoin is one of several crypto businesses under the Trump family. The Trump family’s crypto layout also includes projects like the decentralized finance platform World Liberty Financial.

According to previous financial disclosure documents, Trump earned at least 1.4 billion dollars from his crypto-related businesses last year, making him one of the highest earners in the U.S. crypto space.

For investors, American Bitcoin's consecutive losses and significant stock price decline reflect the high-risk nature of the current strategy focused on a single exposure to Bitcoin.

In the context of increasing industry differentiation, whether miners can withstand the bear market cycle due to cost advantages remains to be tested by the market.