Top managers of the media business owned by the US president intend to raise hundreds of millions to buy cryptocurrency companies
Executives at Trump Media, owned by U.S. President Donald Trump, have created a special purpose entity (SPAC) with the goal of acquiring cryptocurrency or blockchain companies. According to Forbes, Renatus, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, plans to raise at least $179 million through an initial public and private placement.
Renatus' management team, which is a SPAC company, is closely aligned with Trump's media company. Eric Swider, a Trump Media board member, is CEO at the new organization. Devin Nunes is chairman of Trump Media and Renatus' board of directors. Alexander Cano, who was president of Digital World, which helped Trump Media go public, is chief operating officer of Renatus.
The proceeds from the stock sale are planned to be used to buy third-party businesses including cryptocurrency, blockchain, data security and the military-industrial complex, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
SPAC (a special purpose acquisition company) is a company created specifically to merge with another private company that wants to go public without going through the IPO process. SPAC has no assets, no operating history, and no business plan - it is in fact nothing.
SPAC does an initial public offering, raising funds blindly from investors - in fact, that's where the company's story begins. Their IPOs are called blank-checks - by buying such shares, investors are de facto buying air. However, it could pay off in the long run if SPAC executives agree to merge with a good private company.
“Our team has extensive experience in digital assets, blockchain infrastructure, and the regulatory and policy issues impacting the sector. With experience spanning finance, technology and public policy, our leadership is at the forefront of navigating the intersection of crypto innovation and government oversight.”
It is also pointed out that this experience will enable the company to identify and capitalize on opportunities in the evolving ecosystem of digital assets, leveraging strategic insights, industry connections and a forward-thinking approach to create value.
The documents also note the current Trump administration's efforts to integrate digital assets into the national financial strategy, as well as the huge role of initiatives such as the creation of a strategic U.S. bitcoin reserve by stockpiling cryptocurrency assets seized by law enforcement.
Trump Media (DJT) went public in March 2024 through a merger with SPAC - Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC).
The merger was announced back in October 2021, but the deal itself was not approved until three years later.In that time, the SEC managed to accuse a former Digital World board member and two others of insider trading related to the company. As a result, Digital World agreed to pay the SEC $18 million to settle the fraud charges for “material misrepresentation,” according to Forbes.After the merger was finalized, the turmoil continued and the SEC charged Trump Media's accountant, BF Borgers, with fraud involving more than 250 clients.
Borgers agreed to pay a $12 million fine as well as a ban from the industry.This is not the first initiative to buy a crytobusiness by Trump-affiliated traditional companies. In late November 2024, Trump Media discussed buying Bakkt, a platform that provides digital asset trading services. While no new details have been released since then, information about the possible purchase coincided with Bakkt's (BKKT) share price rising 240% in the two days since Nov. 18, according to platform TradingView, to $37.21.
After that, BKKT quotations were in the range of $23-$32. However, after Trump's inauguration on January 20, the price of BKKT collapsed more than 70% from its peak on January 24 to $9.3.
Initiatives by the U.S. presidential administration, Renatus said, include an executive order signed by Trump in early March to create a national bitcoin reserve and establish a fund to hold other digital assets seized by authorities. And an executive order signed in late January to regulate the crypto market, which also initiated the creation of a working group to develop a “federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins.”
Despite this, Renatus noted that “third parties may not want to partner with the company due to the affiliation of their management team and our board of directors with Trump Media and President Donald Trump.”
