American Bitcoin Corp. (NASDAQ:ABTC) co-founder Eric Trump lashed out on Tuesday at an article painting the firm as an “arbitrage play” targeting MAGA supporters.
Trump Brings Out The ‘China’ Angle
In an X post, Trump attributed the critical coverage to Forbes’ ownership by Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media Investments.
“Since being acquired by China, Forbes has become a political weapon and an embarrassment to journalism,” he said. “Educate yourselves as to the source of your information — in this case, China!”
Trump compared the current narrative to Forbes’ past reporting on his St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fundraising, with some funds allegedly diverted to other charities linked to his family.
Forbes didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for comment.
Trump Defends Firm’s Rising BTC Holdings
Regarding American Bitcoin, Trump highlighted the firm’s rise as the 16th largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with a 7,000 BTC treasury valued at $539 million.
“We have arguably climbed the ‘Top 100’ rankings faster than any company in the space and continue to aggressively mine and scale daily,” he said.
But Questions Arise
Trump’s defense came in response to the report stating that the company burned $500 million in shareholder value since going public in September, while Trump’s personal wealth jumped from $190 million to $280 million.
The report mentioned that Trump promoted the company as mining Bitcoin at around $57,000 per coin, when BTC traded near $116,000. However, actual all-in costs, including machines, marketing and capital, reached about $92,000 per BTC, yielding thin margins that vanished as prices dropped in the bear market.
The ABTC stock has tumbled 85% since its Wall Street debut. It's worth noting that despite the subpar performance, analysts have remained bullish on the stock. Roth Capital and H.C. Wainwright & Co. both initiated coverage of ABTC with a “Buy” rating and set a price target of $4.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $76,556.90, down 0.09% over the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
American Bitcoin shares surged 3.42% in overnight trading after closing 3.31% lower at $1.17 during Tuesday’s regular session. Year-to-date, the stock has collapsed 31.18%.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show a weaker price trend in the medium- and long-term periods, but strong performance in the short term.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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