The parent company of Truth Social, the social media (SNS) used by U.S. President Donald Trump, posted a deficit worth hundreds of billions of won after a failed cryptocurrency investment.
On the 9th (local time), Bloomberg News said Trump Media & Technology Group (hereafter Trump Media) recorded a first-quarter net loss of $405.9 million (about 600 billion won).
In particular, the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) showed a loss of $387.8 million, with the deficit nearly doubling from a year earlier.
The main cause of the first-quarter deficit was cited as a failed cryptocurrency investment. Trump Media said last year, when bitcoin prices were surging, that it bought $3.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would create a "bitcoin treasury." It also purchased bitcoin in July last year at an average of $108,519 per coin.
However, it suffered heavy losses as cryptocurrency prices plunged early this year. In February, when the bitcoin price fell below $70,000, Trump Media even sold 2,000 of its holdings.
Trump Media said most of the losses were non-cash, stemming from unrealized losses on digital assets and equity securities, unpaid interest, and stock-based compensation.
Trump Media is the parent company of Truth Social, the SNS created by President Trump. In 2021, after Trump's Twitter (now X) account was suspended, he launched Truth Social.