- Trading in American Bitcoin Corp. (ABTC) was halted on the Nasdaq following a 59% surge on its first day of trading.
- The newly public entity is the result of a merger between a Hut 8 subsidiary and Gryphon Digital Mining, creating a bitcoin mining and accumulation firm.
- The company is prominently backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who control a significant stake and hold key leadership roles.
Trading in shares of American Bitcoin Corp. was halted on Thursday after the stock skyrocketed 59% on its market debut, a volatile opening that underscores intense investor interest in bitcoin-linked equities and the drawing power of its high-profile backers.
The company began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ABTC after completing a 5-for-1 reverse stock split and finalizing its merger with Gryphon Digital Mining on September 2. The newly combined entity, which retains the American Bitcoin name, operates as a hybrid bitcoin treasury and mining firm, aiming to maximize its bitcoin holdings per share through both self-mining and strategic purchases.
According to the merger terms, the combined shareholder base is controlled 98% by the Trump sons, Hut 8, and other legacy American Bitcoin shareholders, with Gryphon investors owning the remainder. Hut 8 itself holds an approximate 80% stake in the new company. Eric Trump serves as Chief Strategy Officer, a role that oversees the company's bitcoin-related initiatives and broader corporate strategy.
The launch comes amid bitcoin prices hovering near all-time highs and a growing trend of public corporations adding the cryptocurrency to their balance sheets. Efforts to reach representatives from American Bitcoin for comment on the trading halt were not immediately successful.
Without a stable trading pattern, the company could face heightened scrutiny from regulators and the market. The debut illustrates the potent, and at times volatile, convergence of celebrity, politics, and cryptocurrency, and is likely to influence the ongoing conversation around the structure and regulation of public crypto companies in the U.S.