Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Overview: Forbes published an investigative report on April 28, accusing the Bitcoin mining company American Bitcoin (NASDAQ: ABTC), co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., of being essentially an "arbitrage machine": since its listing in September 2025, its market value has shrunk from $13.2 billion to about $1.24 billion, resulting in a total loss of around $500 million for retail shareholders, while Eric's personal fortune has increased from $190 million to $280 million.

Forbes also disclosed that about 70% of ABTC's Bitcoin was not mined but purchased from the open market by continuously issuing new shares, with a total cost close to $90,000 per coin, much higher than the $57,000 claimed by the company. Eric immediately labeled the report on X as "Chinese propaganda."

The story of "American Bitcoin" created by the Trump family is bursting in an awkward manner.

On April 28, Forbes magazine published an investigative report written by senior reporter Dan Alexander, branding the Bitcoin mining company American Bitcoin (NASDAQ: ABTC), co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., as a dedicated "arbitrage machine" targeting retail investors from the MAGA camp. The official account of Forbes on X commented: "The president's second son is promoting his Bitcoin company as a money printer. It is actually an arbitrage tool living off MAGA investors."

Eric Trump responded immediately. He posted on X, directly stating that "Forbes has become a political weapon, a disgrace to journalism," and claimed this report "reads like politically motivated propaganda," ultimately calling on readers to "see the true nature of your information sources—this time it's China!" According to several crypto media observations, his response listed the operational hard metrics of ABTC (over 7,000 Bitcoin reserves, 28EH/s computing power, nearly 90,000 mining machines, and $78.3 million in revenue for the fourth quarter), but it did not directly address the core accusation from Forbes regarding retail losses.

Listing at Peak: $270 Million in Bitcoin Assets Underpinning $13.2 Billion Market Value

To understand Forbes's accusation, one must first look at ABTC's starting point at its listing.

ABTC went public on September 3, 2025, through a reverse merger with the listed mining company Gryphon Digital Mining. On its first day of trading, the market valuation reached as high as $13.2 billion, while the company's Bitcoin assets at that time were only about $270 million. This means that investors were willing to pay nearly 50 times the core asset value for a company that had been established for just half a year.

The stock price peaked at $14.52 on that day. Eight months later, ABTC’s stock price fell to about $1.16, a decline of 92%; based on the current stock price, the company's market value is around $1.24 billion, evaporating more than $12 billion from its peak valuation. Forbes estimates that retail shareholders collectively lost about $500 million.

This collapse of ABTC is not a byproduct of a storm in the entire industry. During the same period, peer mining companies such as CleanSpark, IREN, and Cipher Mining also recorded serious losses (CleanSpark reported a net loss of $378.7 million in the fourth quarter, with some mining machines forced to shut down), but most companies saw their stock prices drop by 40%-70%, far less than ABTC's 92% drop. ABTC's uniqueness lies in the fact that it launched into the secondary market with an already inflated high valuation, which the market recognized as "the Trump brand tax." When retail investors began to vote with their feet, it was not just the mining business that fell; the brand narrative itself collapsed.

Forbes Accounts: 70% of Bitcoin Was Not Mined, But Bought with New Share Issuance

Eric Trump’s core narrative is that ABTC is a "money printer," capable of mining Bitcoin at costs far below market prices. In a conference call for their financial report in February this year, he even stated: "We are rapidly becoming the leader in the Bitcoin world, and I truly believe we have the best brand among everyone."

However, Forbes provided a completely different version after examining the company’s SEC filings. About 70% of the Bitcoin held by ABTC was not mined but bought from the open market through new stock issuance.

The specific path is as follows: within the first 27 days after listing, ABTC issued an additional 11 million shares to raise $90 million, purchasing about 725 BTC after deducting about $2 million in costs; from early October to mid-November 2025, it issued another 7 million shares, raising $44 million; at the end of November, it issued a single batch of 47 million shares, raising about $106 million; between January 1 and March 25, 2026, it issued an additional 84 million shares, raising $111 million, buying approximately 1,430 BTC.

In total, Forbes estimates that ABTC purchased about $525 million of Bitcoin through equity financing—this portion of assets is valued at approximately $390 million at current prices, resulting in about $135 million in unrealized losses. The company continuously diluted old shareholders while purchasing Bitcoin at high prices in the open market, even as Bitcoin prices had fallen from last year’s peak of $126,000 to around $70,000.

As for the actual mined portion, Forbes calculated the full costs: including equipment depreciation and management expenses, ABTC's total cost per Bitcoin is nearly $90,000, while Eric repeatedly cited a figure of $57,000 in public. The difference between the two numbers mainly comes from whether depreciation and management costs are included. In the current environment where Bitcoin is priced around $70,000, this difference distinguishes the essence between a "money printer" and a "losing mine."

Insiders Feast, Retail Investors Foot the Bill: Eric's Wealth Increased by $90 Million

ABTC was not a typical mining company from the very beginning.

The company was jointly established by Hut 8 (a Canadian listed mining company) and the Trump family in March 2025: Hut 8 spun off the majority of its Bitcoin mining business to inject into the new company in exchange for an 80% stake; the Trump brothers and early investors obtained the remaining 20%. In other words, the Trump family invested very little in building the plant, purchasing mining machines, or forming a team; their core assets were just the name "American Bitcoin" and the market attention that came with it.

This light-asset structure is also reflected in public documents. Forbes cited a SEC document indicating that one month after the financial report conference call in February 2026, ABTC had only two full-time employees on the books, most likely CEO Mike Ho and President Matt Prusak. Mike Ho also serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at Hut 8. Day-to-day facility operations, mining machine operations, and human resources finance are all outsourced to Hut 8.

According to Forbes' estimates, since the launch of ABTC, Eric Trump's personal wealth has increased from about $190 million to about $280 million, an increase of about $90 million. In stark contrast, retail shareholders collectively bear an unrealized loss of about $500 million.