Finance

Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) has invested US$2B into Bitcoin as part of a new “bitcoin treasury plan”, significantly shifting its focus toward crypto finance. CEO Devin Nunes stated this move aims to build a substantial crypto reserve, and there are even plans to create a utility token for the Truth Social ecosystem. This purchase positions Trump Media as a significant corporate holder of Bitcoin, with intentions to launch Bitcoin-linked ETFs and other investment products. Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) has bought over US$2B (AU$3.06B) worth of Bitcoin. The move is part of what CEO Devin Nunes called the company’s “Bitcoin treasury plan”, a strategy to build a large crypto reserve and position the company as a financial player in digital assets. Nunes said on Monday: Our bitcoin purchase will help ensure our Company’s financial freedom, help protect us against discrimination by financial institutions, and will create synergies with the utility token we’re planning to introduce across the Truth Social ecosphere. Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media. Related: Jameson Lopp’s Quantum-Safety Push: Upgrade Your Bitcoin or Lose It Its Official The announcement follows a May disclosure that Trump Media aimed to raise over US$2.5B (AU$3.8B) for BTC. Now it has deployed most of that into the asset and intends to continue accumulating.  An additional US$300M (AU$459M) has been earmarked for an options strategy tied to Bitcoin-linked securities. The firm is also preparing to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other investment vehicles as part of its broader crypto strategy.  This basically places Trump Media on a trajectory similar to firms such as Strategy, Metaplanet, and Riot Platforms. Most of these companies follow Michael Saylor’s playbook, which helped his company become the largest public holder of BTC.  Strategy owns over 607,000 bitcoins, worth north of US$72B (AU$110), and has aggressively expanded its holdings through equity sales and debt issuance. Trump Media appears to be drawing from the same playbook, and this recent purchase has immediately placed the company at the spot number five, with over 18,000 BTC. Source: BitcoinTreasuries. The news comes as spot Bitcoin ETFs have hit another milestone, with all funds combined now reaching over US$173B (AU$266B). That’s around 7% of the total BTC supply, and of course, BlackRock has the biggest share of the pie, with nearly US$500M (AU$765M) in inflows last Friday alone. Related: Pump.fun Presale Dump: Nearly 60% of PUMP Buyers Have Already Offloaded Tokens, BitMEX Finds Read More

Navigation for News Categories Photo: RNZ More than 50,000 people made withdrawals from their KiwiSaver accounts on the basis of hardship in the year to June – compared to about 18,000 five years ago. KiwiSaver provider Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the increase started in 2023 and the reasons were easy to understand –

Navigation for News Categories Kenyon Clarke, one of the founders of Du Val. (File photo) Photo: kenyonclarke.com The founders of the collapsed Du Val companies will continue to have their assets frozen and their passports held by the court, the High Court has ruled. Du Val is in statutory management, owing more than $300 million

Salvation Army Auckland kai champion Joel Williams in the Manukau Foodbank where the distribution centre is for the Community Grocer. Photo: RNZ / Amy Williams A modern-day Robin Hood supermarket plans to deliver profits back to foodbanks. The Community Grocer has just started delivering pantry staples to online shoppers in three cities, with profits going

Navigation for News Categories As well as households, baking businesses have been severely affected by the price rises of butter. (File photo) Photo: Margaret Jaszowska for Unsplash The high retail price of butter in New Zealand is hurting both families and the baking industry. The price of a block of butter is now 120 percent

Navigation for News Categories Customers often only realise what is happening when they see the recurring fee from a credit card account. File photo. Photo: 123RF New Zealanders are losing millions of dollars a year to “subscription traps”, one bank says. Westpac said it had helped to stop more than $25m in unwanted charges being

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Key topics: Bavesh Kana improves global TB testing with groundbreaking innovation His work ensures affordable diagnostics for under-resourced laboratories Kana’s mission is driven by childhood experiences with TB in South Africa Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter

Key topics: Employers forced to classify employees by race face ethical, legal challenges. Employment Equity quotas criticised for unconstitutional racial discrimination. Legal challenge urges government to stop burdening employers with racial classification. Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The