American Bitcoin, Eric Trump’s bitcoin mining company, announced Monday that it plans to go public.
The firm will merge with fellow bitcoin mining firm Gryphon Digital Mining and operate under the American Bitcoin brand, appearing on the Nasdaq under the ticker “ABTC,” according to a press release.
“Our vision for American Bitcoin is to create the most investable Bitcoin accumulation platform in the market,” Trump, co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin, said in a statement.
“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in that journey, bringing us closer to offering every investor access to a purpose-built platform engineered for scale and long-term value creation in what we believe is one of the most important asset classes of our time,” he continued.
The president’s son launched American Bitcoin earlier this year alongside bitcoin mining company Hut 8. Bitcoin mining is used to create new bitcoins and verify bitcoin transactions.
The decision to go public is the latest move by President Trump’s family in the crypto space, which has increasingly raised concerns as his administration seeks to boost the industry.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture launched by the president and his sons last year, announced earlier this month that its new stablecoin would be used to complete a $2 billion transaction between Emirati firm MGX and crypto exchange Binance.
Trump is also set to attend a dinner later this month with the top investors in his meme coin, which he launched shortly before his inauguration.
Both moves have prompted concerns from Democrats and advocacy groups, who warn that Trump and his family may be profiting off his office and opening up the government to foreign influence.
The Trump family’s expanding crypto portfolio is also starting to cause problems for the president’s legislative agenda.
The administration and Republican lawmakers have made crypto legislation a priority in this Congress, focusing on getting stablecoin and market structure bills across the finish line.
However, recent progress appears to have largely come to a halt. House Democrats walked out of a hearing on market structure legislation last week, citing concerns about Trump’s recent crypto ventures.
Senate stablecoin legislation also failed to clear a key early hurdle on the floor Thursday, after Democrats voted down the bill. They accused Republican leadership of cutting negotiations short. The World Liberty Financial deal also gave the bill’s opponents new fuel.
