As the bitcoin treasury strategy has turned into one of the hottest corporate gambits to boost stock prices, Trump Media announced Tuesday that it is pursuing a similar playbook, but with a twist.
Instead of Bitcoin, the company is betting on Cronos (CRO), the native token of Crypto.com, a coin many mainstream crypto investors may barely recognize.
Trump Media is teaming up with Crypto.com and Yorkville Acquisition (YORK) to create a new entity, Trump Media Group CRO Strategy.
The company says the venture will raise $6.42 billion to purchase CRO coins, positioning it as “the first and largest publicly traded CRO treasury company, as well as what we believe to be the largest digital asset treasury company to market cap ratio in history.”
Crypto.com, a Singapore-based exchange, will seed the effort with $1 billion worth of CRO. Yorkville, a SPAC, will provide a $5 billion line of credit. Ownership will be split between Trump Media, Crypto.com, and Yorkville.
Not the first rodeo
This isn’t the first time Trump Media has paired up with Crypto.com.
Earlier this year, the two collaborated to launch a set of crypto-focused ETFs. Now CRO is set to become integrated into Trump Media’s Truth Social and Truth+ platforms.
The token will anchor a new rewards program, with Crypto.com providing digital wallet infrastructure.
As part of the arrangement, Trump Media will purchase about $105 million in CRO tokens, while Crypto.com will buy $50 million worth of DJT shares.
“As the first company to widely implement CRO across social media and TV streaming platforms, Trump Media is proud to be an early adopter of this best-in-class digital network,” said Devin Nunes, Trump Media’s CEO and chairman.
He added that with Crypto.com’s regulatory licenses, “we believe CRO is poised to become a foundational network for the next generation of asset exchange and money transfers for a world-leading, digital-first America.”
But there’s an ironic hitch.
Despite the rhetoric of “digital-first America,” Crypto.com’s exchange remains largely unavailable in the U.S. outside New York and a handful of territories. For most Americans, the company is better known for paying $700 million to rename the Los Angeles Lakers’ arena.
Trump Media has already dipped into crypto this year with a more conventional strategy, raising $2.44 billion in May to launch a bitcoin treasury vehicle.
But the CRO move suggests the company isn’t just copying MicroStrategy. It’s trying to carve its own path by tying itself to a less-established token and a high-profile exchange partner.
Trump Media’s stock climbed 5.2% on the announcement, while CRO spiked 31.7%.
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