Shares in a cryptocurrency mining firm led by Eric Trump, the former US president's son, suffered a catastrophic collapse this week, shedding more than half their value in a frantic half-hour trading session.
A Dramatic Market Plunge
The stock of American Bitcoin Corp, which trades under the ticker ABTC, plummeted from a closing price of $2.39 to just $1.90 on Tuesday. The precipitous drop was so severe it triggered repeated automatic trading halts on the Nasdaq exchange. This collapse marks a stark reversal for the company, whose shares had peaked at $9.31 as recently as 9 September before tumbling 78% to current levels.
The sell-off at American Bitcoin Corp is part of a wider market crisis engulfing digital assets, with analysts at Deutsche Bank noting that a staggering $1tn has been wiped off the global cryptocurrency market since early October. The flagship digital currency, Bitcoin, has itself plunged over 30%, falling from a high of $126,272 per coin on 6 October to around $92,133.
The Trump Family's Crypto Ambitions
Eric Trump, who serves as president of the Texas-based mining operation, had been publicly bullish on the venture. Just last month, he claimed on the social media platform X that the company handles 2% of the world's bitcoin supply, stating, "I truly believe we are building one the greatest crypto companies anywhere on earth."
His firm is merely one component of the Trump family's expanding portfolio of cryptocurrency-linked businesses. This foray began in 2022 with the launch of a Trump-branded NFT and expanded in 2024 with the creation of World Liberty Financial. In 2025, the family launched its own namesake cryptocurrency, $Trump. Like ABTC, these affiliated ventures are also struggling; the WLFI token from World Liberty Financial has dropped from 26 cents in early September to about 16 cents.
Financial Fortunes and Political Posturing
The family's wealth, heavily tied to these digital asset ventures, has taken a significant hit. Bloomberg estimated the total Trump family fortune at $7.7bn in September, but the recent crypto market downturn has reportedly reduced that figure to approximately $6.7bn.
The downturn presents a complex backdrop for Donald Trump's administration, which has taken steps to foster the digital asset industry. The president has signed an executive order to support its growth and appointed crypto-friendly officials to regulatory roles—a notable shift from his earlier scepticism when he dismissed cryptocurrency as "not money" and "based on thin air."
Despite the turmoil, Eric Trump struck an optimistic note in late November, framing the crash as a potential opportunity. "What a great buying opportunity," he told Bloomberg. "People who buy dips and embrace volatility will be the ultimate winners. I have never been more bullish on the future of cryptocurrency." However, the broader market sentiment suggests a deepening "crypto winter," a prolonged period of declining prices and low activity that now threatens even high-profile ventures like those bearing the Trump name.
