American Bitcoin-related news is making headlines. According to Forbes, this company, founded by Donald Trump’s second son, was publicly promoted as a “money-making machine,” but the reality seems to be quite complex.

It is pointed out that they skillfully leveraged the investment psychology of MAGA supporters to inflate the stock price with the Trump brand premium, then sold large amounts to cash out. Using that capital, they increased their Bitcoin holdings. Since the IPO in September, they have sold about 158 million shares to cash out approximately $351 million and purchased around $58M worth of Bitcoin.

The American Bitcoin mining structure also appears to be riddled with issues. Although the disclosed mining cost was about $58,000, including equipment depreciation, the actual cost is around $90k, exceeding the current Bitcoin price. They also have financing agreements for the mining equipment, so if Bitcoin prices do not recover, all mined coins could be lost to equipment payments.

It’s also surprising that, relative to its size, the company has only two full-time employees. The stock price has fallen 92% from its peak, and investor losses are estimated at about $500 million. Meanwhile, Eric Trump’s personal assets have increased from approximately $300M to $28 million, which is quite symbolic.

In response, Eric Trump has pushed back on X, commenting that “Forbes has become a political weapon.” According to him, American Bitcoin has become the 16th largest Bitcoin company in the world within just over a year since its founding, holding over 7,000 Bitcoins, with about 90k mining rigs and a hash rate of 28 EH/s. In the fourth quarter, Bitcoin holdings increased by 58%, mining costs were 53% below market price, and quarterly revenue was $78.3 million, up 22% from the previous quarter.

It’s hard to judge which side is correct, but the debates surrounding American Bitcoin reflect the ongoing transparency issues in the cryptocurrency market. For investors, it’s crucial to carefully evaluate information sources.