The mining company American Bitcoin has enriched Eric Trump while retail investors have lost around $500 million, according to Forbes.

The firm went public on Nasdaq in September 2025 with a valuation of $13.2 billion. Since then, its stock has plummeted by 92%. Forbes estimates that Trump's wealth has increased from approximately $190 million to $280 million during this period, despite him not investing his own money in the business's creation.

Source: Yahoo Finance.

The Controversial Economics of Mining

Trump claimed that American Bitcoin mines the first cryptocurrency at about $57,000-58,000 per coin—nearly half the market price at that time. Forbes clarified that this figure only includes operational costs for running the equipment. When factoring in the purchase of machines, marketing, depreciation, and other expenses, the cost rises to $92,000 per BTC.

Currently, operational costs for mining have decreased to around $47,000, but the total cost remains close to $90,000. At the time of writing, the first cryptocurrency is trading around $77,000.

Hourly chart of BTC/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView.

Forbes also highlighted the terms of the deal with Hut 8. American Bitcoin gained access to mining equipment, while the other party retained data centers, real estate, operational management, and part of the leadership. According to the annual report, American Bitcoin had only two full-time employees.

Bitcoin Collateral for Equipment

In August-September 2025, the company purchased ASIC miners for about $330 million—not in cash, but by pledging bitcoins with the option to choose the payment method. If prices rose, they could pay in cash and keep the coins; if prices fell, they would hand them over to the supplier.

After the deal, the price of digital gold dropped by about 30%. Forbes believes that if the current trend continues, American Bitcoin will lose the pledged 3,090 BTC—despite having mined only 1,800 BTC.

If prices do not recover, all mined cryptocurrency will go towards paying for the equipment—options expire around August 2027.

Majority of BTC Purchased on the Market

Forbes also claims that about 70% of American Bitcoin's cryptocurrency came not from mining but from selling shares and subsequently buying coins on the market.

After going public, the company actively issued new shares. Within 27 days of listing, it sold 11 million shares for $90 million and purchased about 725 BTC. From early October to mid-November, it sold another 7 million shares for $44 million. At the end of November, following a drop in Bitcoin's price, American Bitcoin sold 47 million shares for approximately $106 million.

From January 1 to March 25, 2026, the firm sold an additional 84 million shares for $111 million and acquired around 1,430 BTC.

In total, from its inception until the end of March, American Bitcoin spent about $525 million on cryptocurrency, which is now valued at approximately $390 million. According to Forbes, the company has "burned" around $135 million of shareholder funds.

The firm's primary model is based on "arbitrage" between the high market valuation of the company and the purchase of Bitcoin through share issuance. The publication linked investor interest in American Bitcoin's shares to the Trump family's brand.

Reactions

Following the publication, Eric Trump called Forbes a "political weapon" and a "disgrace to journalism."

Since being acquired by China, @Forbes has become a political weapon and an embarrassment to journalism.

Just over a year ago, American Bitcoin did not exist. 7 Months and 25 days ago we went public on the NASDAQ. Today we hold over 7,000 Bitcoin and stand as the 16th largest… https://t.co/m7ZD8Pg0F7

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) April 28, 2026

“Just a year ago, American Bitcoin did not exist. […] Today we own 9,000 BTC and are the 16th largest public Bitcoin company in the world, relying on a fleet of 90,000 miners,” he wrote.

The community reacted with criticism. Some noted that he simply disliked the figures presented by the publication. Others called for comments on the decline of American Bitcoin's stock, the WLFI token, and the presidential family's meme coins.

“Okay, you mined 500 BTC a year (which, by the way, is impossible), but where did the 7,000 BTC on the balance come from?” asked one user.

Recall that in March, American Bitcoin announced an expansion of its fleet by 11,298 ASIC miners.