Eric Trump Calls Forbes ‘Chinese Propaganda’ After American Bitcoin Report

Eric Trump posted on X that Forbes had become ‘a political weapon and an embarrassment to journalism’ after the magazine published a report alleging American Bitcoin is a money‑laundering scheme. In the post he called the article politically motivated and urged followers to check their sources.

In the post, he wrote that American Bitcoin did not exist a year ago and now holds more than 7,000 BTC. He described the company as the 16th largest publicly traded bitcoin miner, with nearly 90,000 miners and about 28 exahash of capacity, and he cited Q4 figures including a 58% increase in bitcoin holdings and $78.3 million in revenue, up 22% from the prior quarter. He also said the company mined BTC at a 53% discount to market price.

The report challenged those claims and cited regulatory filings showing only two full‑time employees roughly a month after a February earnings call in which Eric praised the business. The filing lists a likely CEO and president; the CEO also holds a role at an existing data‑center and mining company. The report identified a chief of staff who previously worked in investor relations at a related firm and a social media manager who began in January. Asher, named as executive chairman, sits on a five‑person board with the CEO and three independent directors.

When American Bitcoin began public trading on Sept. 3, investors valued the company at about $13.2 billion while the firm held roughly $270 million in bitcoin. The report noted the company’s diluted stock later fell about 92% from its high. It estimated Eric Trump’s personal wealth rose from about $190 million to $280 million during the period and that retail investors faced roughly $500 million in paper losses.

The company traces to weeks after the 2024 election. An entity formed in Delaware initially presented an AI data‑center plan after a Dubai developer visited Mar‑a‑Lago and outlined a proposed $20 billion U.S. data‑center project. Eric and Donald Trump Jr. backed the initial American Data Centers effort before the business pivoted to bitcoin mining and connected with executives who had ties to an existing mining operator. Those executives gave the Trumps a 20% stake in mining equipment while the operator retained sites, daily operations, back‑office functions and some executives.

Eric has also described pressure from banks as a reason to move into crypto, saying banking relationships were cut off. The report noted some Trump accounts were closed by major banks in 2021 but added that lenders continued to do business with family members and that the Trumps refinanced nearly $700 million in debt between January 2021 and mid‑2022.

The report estimated roughly 70% of the company’s bitcoin was acquired with proceeds from share sales rather than mining. In the first 27 days after listing, the company sold about 11 million shares for roughly $90 million, spent about $2 million in related costs and used proceeds to buy about 725 BTC. Additional share sales through March 25, 2025, raised further funds; total estimated purchases reached about $525 million. Those holdings are now worth about $390 million, leaving an estimated gap of about $135 million between purchase costs and current value. The report estimated mining ran at about $47,000 per BTC before full costs and that all‑in costs approached $90,000 per BTC.

On a February earnings call, Eric praised the company’s brand and prospects, saying, ‘We are fast becoming the leader in the bitcoin world, and I truly think we have the greatest brand of all,’ and he named company executives. The company’s rapid structuring, use of public markets for funding and links with existing operators have become points of debate over its transparency and business model.