Donald Trump’s media company has struck a major deal with Crypto.com to create a new crypto treasury firm, further tightening the former president’s ties with the digital asset sector. The venture, announced on Tuesday, will mirror the bitcoin accumulation strategy made famous by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy and marks a significant move for both Trump Media and the Cronos (CRO) token.

A Treasury Strategy Inspired by MicroStrategy

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social, will partner with Crypto.com to launch Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, a firm designed to hold and accumulate Crypto.com’s native token, CRO.

The company will go public through a merger with Yorkville Acquisition Corp, a blank-cheque special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker MCGA. This approach echoes MicroStrategy’s playbook, which began amassing bitcoin in 2020. Today, MicroStrategy’s holdings are worth around $100 billion, with its stock price having surged fivefold in line with bitcoin’s rally.

Alice Liu, head of research at CoinMarketCap, noted:

“By anchoring Truth Social’s rewards economy and corporate reserves in CRO, Trump Media is effectively institutionalising the token. It is another example of a corporate entity treating a native token as part of its treasury strategy.”

Market Reaction: CRO Jumps, Trump Media Rises

The market reacted quickly to the announcement. The CRO token surged nearly 30% to $0.20, according to CoinGecko, while shares of Trump Media rose 6.6% to $18.36 on Tuesday afternoon.

Yorkville Acquisition shares, however, slipped slightly, falling 2.2% to $10.42. Despite this, the overall response from the crypto community has been positive, with the move seen as a new form of validation for CRO within corporate finance.

Cronos currently has a market value of $6.8 billion, still relatively small compared to the global crypto market capitalisation of $3.9 trillion, but the deal positions it for greater visibility and institutional adoption.

Funding and Investment Details

The new venture will be heavily funded through a mix of crypto, cash, warrants, and credit lines:

• $1 billion in CRO tokens
• $200 million in cash
• $220 million in warrants
• $5 billion equity line of credit from a Yorkville affiliate

On top of that, Trump Media has agreed to purchase $105 million worth of CRO for its balance sheet. In return, Crypto.com will buy $50 million of Trump Media common stock, further cementing the financial partnership between the two firms.

This is not the first time Trump Media has engaged with Crypto.com. Earlier this year, they partnered to launch Truth.Fi, a brand focusing on exchange-traded products linked to digital assets.

Trump, Crypto, and a Growing Industry

The deal arrives at a time when the U.S. crypto industry is enjoying a resurgence, helped by favourable regulations under the Trump administration. Trump and his family have been actively involved in several crypto ventures:

• World Liberty Financial, another Trump-linked project, recently secured approval for its tokens to be traded more widely, potentially boosting Trump’s personal holdings.
• 1789 Capital, co-founded by former Bank of America executive Omeed Malik and partnered with Donald Trump Jr., has announced an investment in the prediction market platform Polymarket. Trump Jr. will also join Polymarket’s advisory board.

Meanwhile, the industry has seen a wave of SPAC-based deals. In April, Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, and SoftBank backed a $3.6 billion bitcoin-focused company using a similar structure.

Adding to the momentum, Canary Capital has filed for an ETF tracking the $TRUMP meme coin, underlining the degree to which Trump’s name is now intertwined with the digital asset market.

Institutionalising Native Tokens

The Trump Media–Crypto.com partnership represents more than a financial deal; it symbolises a broader shift in how companies approach digital assets. Instead of only focusing on bitcoin or Ethereum, firms are now looking to institutionalise native exchange tokens like CRO within corporate treasuries.

By aligning Truth Social’s reward system and Trump Media’s balance sheet with CRO, the move could provide both stability and long-term demand for the token. It also signals to other corporations that exchange-linked cryptocurrencies can serve as viable reserve assets.

As Trump Media enters the market with backing from Crypto.com and Yorkville, the venture positions itself at the intersection of politics, social media, and digital finance, a potent mix that could reshape the crypto landscape.