Trump Media is exploring making a cryptocurrency fee platform known as TruthFi, in response to a trademark submitting.
The Trump Media & Expertise Group (TMTG) has been working to broaden from its present core product, the conservative social media platform Reality Social. In earlier SEC filings, the corporate has acknowledged it intends to construct a various set of digital companies. To date, it has expanded into streaming and is engaged on constructing its personal tech infrastructure. Now it seems a cryptocurrency fee system may very well be the most recent addition to its budding roster of ventures.
Within the trademark utility filed on Nov. 18, TMTG outlined plans to create “downloadable laptop software program” that serves as a “digital pockets,” probably referring to an app that can be utilized to retailer and commerce cryptocurrencies. The applying additionally particulars plans to function a funds processing platform for purchases made with cryptocurrencies.
The service may additionally embody some sort of market intelligence service. Among the many makes use of for the trademark is the “analyzing and compiling [of] knowledge for measuring the efficiency of economic markets,” in response to the applying.
To date, Trump Media’s current enterprise—Reality Social—has delivered few monetary outcomes for the corporate. By the third quarter of 2024, Trump Media made solely about $2.6 million in income on losses of $363 million. Nonetheless, the corporate does have a money pile of $372 million in addition to shares, which may very well be used to fund its enlargement.
A few of that development may come from acquisitions. Earlier this week, the Monetary Occasions reported TMTG was in talks to amass the digital foreign money platform Bakkt in an all-stock deal. Initially launched with nice fanfare in 2018, Bakkt had sought to legitimize buying and selling in cryptocurrencies by providing them to institutional traders. However the firm has struggled since then. In February, Bakkt issued a “going concern” discover and reported it was prone to being delisted from the New York Inventory Trade. Bakkt is owned by Intercontinental Trade (ICE), the dad or mum firm of the New York Inventory Trade.
Bakkt additionally has ties to Republican politics. Its former CEO was Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler. Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is the CEO of ICE.
TMTG didn’t reply to a request for remark.
President-elect Donald Trump, the most important shareholder of TMTG with about 53% of the corporate, has grow to be more and more concerned within the crypto business. Earlier this yr throughout the presidential marketing campaign, he introduced the launch of crypto token World Liberty Monetary alongside his son Donald Trump Jr, who’s on the board of TMTG.
Trump warmed as much as crypto just lately after beforehand calling Bitcoin a “rip-off.” He attributed his change of coronary heart partially to his youngest son Barron Trump, who’s a school pupil at NYU. Throughout an X Areas occasion asserting the launch of World Liberty Monetary, Trump talked about that his youngest son would usually present him his numerous crypto wallets and the currencies he held in them.
