TrumpRegulationBitcoin
|4 min ReadForbes: Trump emerges as one of America’s biggest BTC investors
Jax Morales
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
A hidden trove inside TMTG
Look past the show and you see it. One of Donald Trump’s most important assets is not a tower or a golf course. It is Bitcoin. You will not find it on the financial disclosure he filed with the government. It is not listed on the Trump Organization’s site. It does not show up on other asset reports. Yet the position is there, indirectly, and it is big. Forbes estimates Trump’s Bitcoin exposure at up to $870 million, making him one of the largest BTC investors in the United States.
The key is Trump Media and Technology Group, or TMTG, which runs Truth Social and does appear in his filings. TMTG’s revenue is under 2.3 billion via debt and equity sales. In July it purchased 2.1 billion in BTC reserves. Trump’s 41 percent stake implies an indirect BTC position of about $870 million.
Only a few billionaires hold more. The Winklevoss twins may own over 5 billion in BTC tied to his 7 percent stake, and Saylor is estimated to own about 3.6 billion. Investor Matthew Roszak may hold more than $1 billion. Next on the list sits Trump, who had little to do with Bitcoin during his first term.
From skeptic to promoter
In 2019, Trump tweeted that he did not like Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, calling them volatile and “based on nothing,” and warning that unregulated assets could fuel illegal activity. Then the posture changed. After leaving the White House, he tested the waters and made easy millions selling NFT trading cards that cast him as a superhero. As the 2024 election neared, he and his three sons launched a crypto project called World Liberty Financial. At first it went nowhere. After Trump won, the crypto community, sensitive to regulation, piled into the token. Forbes estimates that move added more than 1 billion.
His second term began with a rising tide for digital assets. From Election Day last November to this May, Bitcoin climbed about 60 percent. TMTG then announced it would stockpile BTC and used its high share price to raise capital, selling 1.4 billion of stock. Trump personally holds about $400 million of that debt, now the largest loan in his portfolio, larger than any single mortgage on real estate. Tremendous leverage. Very bold.
Financing, policy, and the White House line
The ethics debate is obvious. The White House shrugs. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The President and his family have never, and will never, engage in conflicts of interest.” She then pointed to actions that critics will read as conflicts, citing administrative moves, support for legislation such as the GENIUS Act, and other policies meant to make the United States “the global hub of cryptocurrency.” The message is that pro-crypto steps fulfill a policy pledge, not a personal trade. The politics and the portfolio now move together. Everybody knows it.
Investors who bought TMTG stock and bonds to fund the Bitcoin strategy are betting on memestock dynamics. It already happened once when the shares ran on the back of a loss-making social app. If the firm is now tied to one of the hottest assets on earth, why not another run. The bonds add a backstop. Their structure aims to deliver a 4 percent return after eighteen months even if the stock does not surge.
Market reality check and what comes next
Mania fades. Balance sheets matter. TMTG now shows billions of dollars in Bitcoin and 1.2 billion lower than before the pivot to BTC. Strip out the coins and investors currently value the original media business at about 60 percent of the May assessment.
That does not mean TMTG is doomed. Trump has three years left in his second term. If Bitcoin keeps rising, and if allies in Washington cheer on the sector, the stock could rally again. That would add hundreds of millions, even billions, to Trump’s wealth. The setup is simple. A president who once mocked crypto now rides it. A media company with low revenue holds a huge BTC reserve. A political brand fuels attention. It is a beautiful alignment for a promoter who loves a big stage.
There is also the stagecraft. Trump, the salesman in chief, delivered the keynote at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville. The crowd loved it. The question in markets is colder. Will a sitting president’s megaphone and a company’s balance sheet push Bitcoin to new highs. Or will the hype meet the hard math of financing costs and equity dilution. For now, TMTG owns billions in BTC, Trump owns a large piece of TMTG.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.