Crypto Firm Tied to Trumps Sees Shares Sink as Lockup Ends

BTC-USD +0.43% ABTC +9.13%

(Bloomberg) -- American Bitcoin Corp. stock plunged on Tuesday after restricted shares of the crypto miner co-founded by Eric Trump were freed up to be traded.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Steve Cohen, Bally’s, Genting Picked to Run Casinos in NYC

• Europe’s Largest Capital Without a Subway Is Finally Getting One

• Wealthy New Jersey Town’s Vote on Fixing School Deficit Canceled

The selloff was swift. Shares lost more than half of their value in less than 30 minutes as the equity lockup expired, triggering repeated trading halts. The stock pared declines later in the trading session, falling 35% to $2.33 as of 2:30 p.m. in New York.

Shares from a private placement that took place before American Bitcoin merged with Gryphon Digital Mining Inc. became available on Tuesday, according to the crypto miner and a post on the social media platform X by Trump.

“We expect near term volatility as those shares come to market and as some investors take the opportunity to realize gains,” Matt Prusak, president of American Bitcoin, said in a statement.

Crypto firms have often seen large declines after the end of share lockup periods or announcing private investment in public equity filings, as their largely retail investor base takes it as a signal to sell. Retail traders often fear that those early investors will want to lock in their gains and unload shares.

“I’m holding all my American Bitcoin shares,” said Trump in the X post. “I’m 100% committed to leading the industry.”

The latest selloff in American Bitcoin comes after the stock had already fallen more than 60% from a September peak through Monday’s close, amid a broader rout in the digital asset market that has seen Bitcoin plunge more than 25% from its own high touched in early October. Investor sentiment on crypto has soured as broader macroeconomic factors weighed on risk assets.

On Tuesday, the crypto market rebounded after almost $1 billion of leveraged crypto positions were liquidated a day earlier.

There are more equity unlocks in 2026 for American Bitcoin, according to Brian Dobson, a managing director at Clear Street, adding that share selloffs are typical after such periods.

“Given the outsized impact on the shares that today’s expiration had, I believe that investors would likely pay close attention to upcoming lockup expirations,” Dobson said.

However, for the next events shareholders “would likely be more judicious in their selling of shares,” he added.

Spun out of Hut 8 Corp. earlier this year, American Bitcoin saw its shares surge initially on the announced mining venture. Hut 8, which still owns a majority stake in American Bitcoin, saw its shares fall as much as 15% on Tuesday.

American Bitcoin reported third-quarter net income of $3.5 million on revenue of $64.2 million in November.

“The unlock affects who can buy or sell, not the assets we operate or the work the team is doing every day,” said Prusak. “Short term price movement is outside our control, but execution is not. We remain focused on strengthening the business and confident in our strategy, our performance, and the long-term value we are building.”

Donald Trump Jr., who is also an American Bitcoin shareholder, along with other Trump family crypto ventures have suffered too. WLFI, the token of Trump-linked decentralized finance platform World Liberty Financial, is down more than 30% from September’s high, while ALT5 Sigma Corp., a digital asset treasury company holding WLFI tokens, is down over 80% from its record high.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment

• The AI Industry Is Built on a Big Unproven Assumption

• Trump’s Assault on the WHO Is Forcing Radical Reform

• Pulte’s Move to Fix Credit Scores Is Bad News for Homebuyers

• Target Needs More Than a Vibe Shift to Turn Its Business Around

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.