The Trump Media and Technology Group in the United States has announced a partnership with a cryptocurrency exchange to award its shareholders digital tokens.

The announcement corresponded with a small jump on Wednesday in the company’s shares, which were up 5 percent as of 11am US East Coast time (16:00 GMT).

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The majority of Trump Media’s shares are owned by its namesake, US President Donald Trump, who has been a vocal advocate for cryptocurrency, particularly during his second term.

In a news release, the company explained that it would work with the Singapore-based firm Crypto.com to provide shareholders with one digital token for every whole share they own.

There was no timeline for the plan, but Trump Media said the tokens would become available “in the near future”.

It added that “various awards” would be “made available to token holders periodically throughout the year”, including “benefits and discounts” related to Trump’s social media platform Truth Social and its affiliated streaming platform, Truth+.

“We look forward to utilizing Crypto.com’s blockchain technology and improving regulatory clarity to implement this first-of-its kind token distribution,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in the news release.

Crypto.com is slated to partner with the Trump Media and Technology Group to distribute digital tokens to shareholders [File: Jae C Hong/AP Photo]

Building a ‘crypto capital’

Wednesday’s announcement is not Trump’s first foray into the realm of cryptocurrency, nor is it Trump Media’s first partnership with Crypto.com.

If anything, Trump has described himself as a “crypto president” during his second term.

Part of his recent agenda has been to peel back regulations and end investigations that he believes have impeded cryptocurrency development.

In so doing, Trump has repeatedly promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the world”, echoing similar pledges from other right-wing leaders including Argentina’s Javier Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele.

Crypto.com is among the companies that have benefitted from that push.

In October 2024, Crypto.com announced it had filed a lawsuit against the federal government, after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegedly issued the company a “Wells notice”, signalling the likelihood of upcoming regulatory action.

But the government investigations into Crypto.com and other digital currency platforms were quickly dropped after the start of Trump’s second term in January.

Trump, a Republican, described the probes and prosecutions as an attack on innovation, and he blamed his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for unfairly targeting the crypto industry.

“My administration is also working to end the federal bureaucracy’s war on crypto, which was really going on pretty wildly during Biden,” Trump told a roundtable of cryptocurrency leaders in March, whom he praised as “high-IQ people”.

That same month, the Trump administration announced a “strategic reserve” at the US Treasury, consisting of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, as well as a digital asset stockpile.

The administration has taken other steps to propel cryptocurrency into the mainstream, including by promoting its use in retirement accounts.

This month, Trump issued an executive order to discourage states from implementing their own restrictions on cryptocurrency, arguing that such actions would create a burdensome patchwork of rules.

But critics warn that the lack of regulation surrounding cryptocurrency — and the industry’s reliance on loans — could make investments volatile. That, in turn, could leave consumers vulnerable to cratering losses.

The social media platform Truth Social is the flagship project for the Trump Media and Technology Group [File: John Minchillo/AP Photo]

Still, the digital currency industry has responded to Trump’s efforts by embracing the Republican leader, with firms donating millions to his 2025 inauguration fund.

Crypto.com was among the companies that donated to the inauguration as well as super PACs (political action committees) related to the president.

Separately, Trump Media has fostered an increasingly close relationship with Crypto.com.

In August, for instance, the two companies announced that Trump Media would serve as a treasury for one of Crypto.com’s assets, the digital currency Cronos.

Then, in October, Trump Media unveiled a plan with Crypto.com to create a market prediction platform called Truth Predict.

Such platforms are sometimes called betting markets because they allow users to stake money on the outcome of world events, including political elections.

While Trump has placed many of his shares in Trump Media in a revocable trust, overseen by his son Eric, he still stands to benefit from any gains the company makes.

Critics have accused business leaders of attempting to sway the president by supporting his family’s financial interests and corporate ventures.

Nevertheless, Trump Media has struggled to find its footing since its launch in 2021.

Its signature product, the social media platform Truth Social, continues to lag behind its competitors, with a relatively modest 6 million estimated monthly users.

In recent weeks, however, the company has sought to diversify its portfolio and generate new momentum, including by announcing a merger with the fusion energy company TAE Technologies.