American Bitcoin, the Nasdaq-listed miner backed by US President Donald Trump's sons, is facing its first major market stress test.
For months, the industry has watched as the Trump family traded real estate headlines for blockchain ventures, promising to turn the U.S. into the "crypto capital" of the planet.
It was a pivot that felt like a sure bet when prices were hitting six figures, but the reality of the public markets is starting to bite back.
Investors who piled into the Trump-backed "American Bitcoin" project during its high-profile Nasdaq debut are now getting a lesson in crypto volatility.
Related: What is Bitcoin mining? Explained
Mining deal anchors broader Trump push into digital assets
American Bitcoin (Nasdaq: ABTC) was launched on March 31, 2025, through a partnership between Miami-based miner Hut 8 and investors including Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
Hut 8 merged the majority of its mining operations for an 80% stake in American Data Centers, which was relaunched as American Bitcoin.
The move was part of a broader Trump family pivot into crypto, spanning Bitcoin mining, treasury accumulation strategies and the launch of World Liberty Financial in September 2024, a Trump-linked stablecoin venture.
At the time, Donald Trump Jr. said:
"From the start, we've backed our conviction in Bitcoin - personally and through our businesses. But simply buying Bitcoin is only half the story. Mining it on favorable economics opens an even bigger opportunity."
American Bitcoin later moved toward public markets via an all-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. Following its listing, Eric Trump said in a press release on September 16, 2025:
"Our Nasdaq debut marks a historic milestone in bringing bitcoin into the core of U.S. capital markets."
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Q4 results swing to loss
On February 26, 2026, American Bitcoin reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results. Eric Trump said in the earnings release:
"We launched American Bitcoin in March 2025 with a clear mandate to accumulate Bitcoin at scale. Six months later, we were trading on the Nasdaq. By year-end, we held 5,401 Bitcoin on the balance sheet, and that figure has since grown to more than 6,000 Bitcoin."
For the three months ended December 31, 2025, the company posted a net loss of $59.45 million, compared with a $3.48 million profit in the prior-year period
Quarterly revenue rose to $78.3 million, up from $64.2 million a year earlier, but fell short of analysts' expectations of $79.6 million, Reuters reported .
Bitcoin fell nearly 23% during the quarter, weighing on mining economics and the valuation of coins held on the balance sheet.
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For the full year, American Bitcoin reported a net loss of $153.2 million, driven primarily by a $227.1 million non-cash mark-to-market loss on Bitcoin under fair-value accounting rules.
As of February 24, the company said it held more than 6,000 Bitcoin, up from 5,401 at year-end.
Shares of American Bitcoin have fallen nearly 22% over the past twelve months, pressured by the wider crypto market selloff and weaker Bitcoin prices that have dragged down mining stocks.
Sector wide pressure mounts
The results from American Bitcoin land during a period of intense pressure for the broader mining industry.
Falling token prices combined with rising electricity costs have left many digital asset firms on shaky ground.
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CleanSpark reported a net loss of $378.7 million on Feb. 5 and began unplugging hardware as mining costs surpassed $87,000 per coin.
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IREN posted a net loss of $155.4 million on Feb. 6 while shifting its focus from mining toward AI cloud infrastructure.
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Bitdeer Technologies sold its entire 943 Bitcoin holdings on Feb. 20 to fund data center and high-performance computing expansions.
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Cipher Mining announced a rebrand to Cipher Digital on Feb. 24, signaling a pivot toward high-performance computing (HPC) over pure mining.
Analysts note that the "hash price," a measure of mining profitability, reached record lows this week.
While American Bitcoin management remains bullish on their "accumulation platform" model, the market continues to punish crypto-adjacent equities that remain over-indexed to token price cycles.
At the time of writing, ABTC was trading at $1.05, up 0.94% on the day. Bitcoin was trading at $68,068.04, up 2.85% on the day.
Related: Explained: Types of Bitcoin mining
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
