- Trump Media & Technology Group announced it officially signed an agreement to start several ETFs through its fintech brand, Truth.Fi. The ETFs will be available through Crypto.com’s broker dealer and will invest in cryptocurrencies and the energy sector, according to a press release.
Truth.Fi, the fintech brand of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), signed an official agreement with Crypto.com, one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the world, to launch several “Made in America”-themed ETFs. The partnership and ETFs were announced last month, but became official Tuesday.
TMTG, whose flagship product is the social media platform Truth Social, branched out into financial services in January with its Truth.Fi service. The deal with Crypto.com marks TMTG’s official entry into the ETF market. TMTG had previously inked an agreement with Charles Schwab to launch a series of separately managed accounts.
Over the course of the last year, TMTG has made significant strides to expand its portfolio of digital businesses beyond Truth Social. Last year, it launched a streaming service; this year, it has made notable headway in standing up a fintech platform.
Truth.Fi bills itself as part of the “Patriot Economy,” a conservative effort to build a parallel financial system. The idea is that many existing financial institutions like banks, brokerage firms, and exchanges are too liberal. To compete with existing firms, companies like TMTG are trying to set up their own set of financial products.
TMTG’s ETFs, labeled Made in America, will consist of digital assets and securities in industries such as energy, according to a company statement. The ETFs will be sold through Crypto.com’s broker dealer, Foris Capital US LLC.
One of TMTG’s longtime financial partners, Yorkville Advisors, is also involved in the company’s financial-services endeavors. One of Yorkville’s subsidiaries will serve as an asset manager for the ETFs. Yorkville is also the registered investment advisor for TMTG’s investment products offered via Charles Schwab.
TMTG and Yorkville’s finances are heavily intertwined. Last year, the two companies signed a standby equity purchase agreement, which is a specific kind of contract that allows a company to sell discounted shares to a firm that is then obligated to buy them. These sorts of agreements can be mutually beneficial because they offer a company like TMTG a guaranteed buyer of shares should they need to raise capital. At the same time, Yorkville can buy TMTG stock at a discount, paying only 97.25% of the share price, which it can then sell on the open market at full price.
In 2024, TMTG raised about $450 million from this financial arrangement, according to SEC filings.
TMTG’s foray into financial services, with a focus on crypto, marks the latest such venture in President Donald Trump’s business portfolio. Trump, who is TMTG’s largest shareholder via a revocable trust controlled by his son Donald Trump Jr. (who is also a company board member), has in recent months launched several of his own cryptocurrency businesses. Shortly before his inauguration in January, Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, launched memecoins. The two cryptocurrencies shot up in value before the price eventually fell. With his memecoin, Trump not only makes money based on the value of the coin, but also from trading fees as other investors buy and sell the coin. Trump also has a separate crypto venture called World Liberty Financial that lets users borrow, lend, and invest in cryptocurrencies.
