More than 10 Wall Street firms pay up to $100,000 for faster Truth Social posts as Trump Media crypto losses mount
Trump Media has signed up more than 10 customers for its new Truth API service. The service gives Wall Street traders faster access to market-moving posts made by influential accounts on Trump’s Truth Social platform. Truth API launched at the start of August. It is designed to give some traders an early look at posts from the most influential Truth Social accounts before the information spreads more widely.
Most of the early customers are high-frequency trading firms. These firms use technology to make very fast trades based on market information. Trump Media interim CEO Kevin McGurn said customers are paying between $60,000 and $100,000 a month for Truth API during the company’s earnings call, according to BBC News.
Truth API gives traders faster access
The service could give traders a potential advantage. Since Trump often makes important announcements on Truth Social, faster access to his posts could allow subscribers to react to information before other investors. Trump Media announced the plan in July. The company said it wanted to give Wall Street firms and institutional investors faster access to posts on Truth Social.
The business model has raised legal and ethical questions. Critics are questioning whether it is appropriate for a company linked to the president’s family to potentially make money from his own public statements. Trump’s family remains the majority shareholder of Trump Media. This has added to concerns about the company making money from information posted by Trump, who is also the US president.
Truth API could bring new revenue
Trump Media says Truth API can become an important new source of revenue. In its earnings statement on Monday, the company said the service is expected to create a new revenue stream. The company believes Truth API could become a long-term business.
McGurn said Trump Media expects the service to become a “meaningful” and “durable” source of revenue alongside its wider media business, according to BBC News. Trump Media is looking beyond Wall Street for customers. McGurn said the company is also exploring opportunities with technology companies, news organisations and betting markets.
Trump Media reports $238 million loss
The new business comes as Trump Media reported a huge quarterly loss. The company lost $238 million between April and June, according to its earnings report. The loss was more than 10 times bigger than a year earlier. Trump Media said its loss for the same period last year was much smaller.
Trump Media has still not made a profit. The company has expanded into businesses outside traditional media but now says it wants to put more focus back on its social media operations. Revenue was much smaller than the company’s loss.
Trump Media reported $1.7 million in revenue for the quarter. Revenue increased sharply from a year earlier, according to BBC News. The company said its revenue was up 89% compared with the same period last year.
Crypto losses hit Trump Media
Despite the revenue growth, cryptocurrency losses pushed the company deep into the red. Trump Media’s overall financial performance was hurt by a fall in the value of its cryptocurrency holdings. Trump Media has been expanding heavily into cryptocurrency. The company has moved beyond social media into crypto holdings and other digital-asset businesses.
The company ended the second quarter with about $2 billion in total assets. Trump Media said around $1.9 billion of those assets were financial assets, according to BBC News. Those financial assets include cash, short-term investments and digital currencies. This shows how much of the company’s balance sheet is tied to financial and digital assets rather than its traditional media operations.
Trump Media is also investing in clean energy. The company has been trying to build businesses in areas beyond social media, including cryptocurrency and clean-energy investments.
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Trump Media looks beyond crypto
One analyst says crypto has become central to the company. Markus Thielen of 10x Research told the BBC that Trump Media is effectively a crypto holdings company built around a media business, with much of its losses coming from that strategy.
Trump Media is now trying to diversify beyond crypto. Thielen said the company is also moving into areas such as social media, but these newer businesses have not yet produced significant revenue. The company recently dropped another crypto-related plan. Earlier in August, Trump Media cancelled a planned project with Crypto.com that would have added prediction-market features to Truth Social.
The Truth API is therefore part of a wider attempt to find new ways to make money. Trump Media is trying to build revenue from its social media platform while also expanding into digital assets and other businesses.
The key issue is whether faster access to Trump’s posts can become a major business. The company sees Truth API as a potentially lasting source of income, but the service is already facing questions over fairness, market advantage and the close financial connection between Trump, his family and the company.
