Hut 8 and Trump-Backed American Data Centers Form American Bitcoin, Eyeing Public Listing

Publicly traded bitcoin miner Hut 8 has partnered with American Data Centers—an infrastructure firm backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.—to launch a new mining company, American Bitcoin. This move deepens the Trump family’s corporate involvement in the cryptocurrency industry.

Under a cashless merger, Hut 8 will hold an 80% stake in American Bitcoin and oversee operations through a shared services agreement, while the Trump-backed firm retains a 20% stake. Hut 8 also plans to deploy over 60,000 ASIC machines to the new standalone mining entity. Following the announcement, Hut 8’s stock surged more than 6% in pre-market trading, though it remains down 46% year-to-date due to post-halving revenue pressures.

The newly formed company is led by Mike Ho as executive chairman, Matt Prusak as CEO, and Eric Trump as chief strategy officer. The board includes Ho, Justin Mateen, Michael Broukhim, and Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot. "By carving out our mining business into a standalone entity, which will raise its own capital, we align each segment of the business with its respective cost of capital,” Genoot stated.

The long-term vision for American Bitcoin is to eventually operate as "two sister publicly traded companies" within a vertically integrated firm, according to Genoot. One branch will focus on energy and data center infrastructure, while the other manages bitcoin mining operations and strategic bitcoin reserves. Bloomberg reports that American Bitcoin may take on private investment before going public.

Donald Trump Jr. emphasized the family's broader crypto ambitions, stating, “From the start, we’ve backed our conviction in Bitcoin — personally and through our businesses. Simply buying Bitcoin is only half the story. Mining it on favorable economics opens an even bigger opportunity.”

Beyond mining, the Trumps have supported World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance protocol aiming to launch a stablecoin, and were previously affiliated with Trump-branded memecoins TRUMP and MELANIA—both of which have dropped over 85% from their peaks since January.

In a Bloomberg interview, Eric Trump clarified that he has "virtually [no]" communication with his father, President Donald Trump, and does not work with the White House.