desk
Share
News Topical, Digital Desk : US President Donald Trump has reinvented himself several times - from real estate developer to TV personality and then world leader. Now his internet media company 'Trump Media and Technology Group', which is the parent company of the President's Truth social site, is undergoing its own new transformation and has become a major player in the crypto industry.
In just the past few months, Trump Media has raised $2.5 billion in cash to invest in bitcoin and is working to bring a crypto-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) to market. Trump holds no official position at Trump Media and does not advise on corporate policy. But he is the company's largest shareholder, and over the past year he and his family have become major crypto promoters
Declining in popularity
The pivot to crypto highlights the reality of one of the president's most prominent business interests. Truth Social may serve as Trump's online megaphone, which he uses to attack his enemies, praise his allies and announce executive orders, tariffs and ceasefires. But the three-year-old internet media platform has struggled to generate advertising revenue.
Due to this, Trump Media, which came into existence in March 2024, has become a continuously loss-making company and the value of its shares has been falling since the beginning. This year, Trump Media's shares have fallen by 43 percent. In June, Truth Social's popularity declined slightly. Trump had more than one crore followers. According to digital market intelligence company 'SimilarWeb', a huge increase was seen in the number of people visiting this platform daily.
No one is interested in advertising
- But Truth Social is still tiny compared to Internet media platform X, owned by Trump's billionaire 'friend-turned-enemy' Elon Musk. According to SimilarWeb, about 80 percent of traffic to Truth Social's website last month was to watch the president's remarks. This is one reason why Trump Media has struggled to expand its user base and attract advertisers other than those selling 'products' to Trump's supporters.
- With just 29 employees, the Florida-based company has never made a major commitment to selling advertising and has few people on staff to do so. Trump Media posted a net loss of $31 million in the first quarter of this year and has not turned a profit since its inception.
--Advertisement--
