Donald Trump, President-elect of the United States, revealed holds $7.2 million in many cryptocurrencies. This is another proof that he is a pro-crypto.

According to data from Arkham Intelligence, on Nov. 25, the 47th President of the United States owned digital assets in cryptocurrencies worth about $7.2 million. He held $26 million in cryptocurrency on Jun. 6, but dropped just a few days after to $17 million.

His most significant hold on crypto is meme coin Trog (TROG), with 210 billion coins equal to $1.86 million. At the time of writing, TROG prices surged 343% from $0.000002008 to $0.000008914 in the past 24 hours.

The most exciting part is that he holds TROG bigger than Ethereum (ETH), with $1.7 million, and the average price of Ethereum is $3,401. WETH (WETH) became the third largest crypto held, with 478 WETH, which is equal to $1.63 million.

Another million holds on crypto is themed-coin of his name, TRUMP with 579k or equals to $1.03 million. He mostly holds meme coins, including GUA, TUA, PUPPIES, and CZAR. Among those on the top list, Bitcoin (BTC) was not on the list as the biggest crypto that he holds.

Trump’s movement on crypto

Although he was ever known as anti-crypto back then in 2021, when he was not re-elected as U.S. President, now he is one of the most significant figures in the crypto industry.

When entering this year’s election, he eventually became pro-crypto as he attended the Bitcoin Conference 2024 in Nashville. He shares the pro-crypto program if re-elected, which includes Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and is supported by numerous Republican senators to propose the idea to Congress.

Now, he has been re-elected to the White House and chosen several names for his cabinet, some of which are identified as pro-crypto, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Elon Musk. Trump also chose Scott Bessent as the Secretary of Treasury, who he called as the “most pro-crypto treasury we’ve ever seen,”.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at the request of the Federal Communications Commission, has been detaining imports of Bitmain’s Antminer ASIC miners at ports nationwide for up to two months.

The delays have impacted seven U.S.-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies without answers, according to a report from Blockspace. The detained models include the S21 and T21 series miners.

CBP has not disclosed the reason for the detentions or provided a timeline for resolution. Some affected companies have reported daily holding fees exceeding $200,000.

The holds do not appear to target other ASIC manufacturers, such as MicroBT or Canaan, and are reportedly concentrated at West Coast ports like San Francisco.

Border delay speculation

Industry speculation suggests the delays may be related to scrutiny of chips supplied by Xiamen Sophgo, a Chinese semiconductor company under investigation for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions, according to Blockspace.

Sophgo’s chips, including the CV1835, are reportedly used in certain Antminer models, such as the S19 and T21 series. Sophgo’s CEO, Micree Zhan, is also a co-founder of Bitmain, raising questions about potential links to the investigation.

The Department of Commerce began investigating Sophgo after discovering a chip linked to the company in a Huawei device. Huawei has faced U.S. sanctions since 2019 over national security concerns.

While no confirmed link exists between these sanctions and the detained Antminer shipments, sources speculate the FCC and CBP are inspecting imports for restricted components.

Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has significantly increased its Bitcoin (BTC) purchases this month in response to the bullish sentiment following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory on November 5. The company’s recent acquisitions have pushed its total Bitcoin holdings to approximately $38 billion.

Convertible Notes Fuel Massive Bitcoin Purchase

On November 25, co-founder Michael Saylor announced via social media that MicroStrategy had acquired 55,500 BTC between November 18 and November 24 for $5.4 billion. 

This purchase was funded by proceeds from a $3 billion convertible note issuance and sales of common shares, as detailed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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Since beginning its Bitcoin acquisition strategy in 2020, Saylor has shifted from using corporate cash to a more complex funding model that involves selling convertible debt and shares. 

The latest convertible note was issued at a zero percent interest rate, reflecting lenders’ confidence that MicroStrategy’s stock will appreciate beyond the conversion price in the future. 

Jeffrey Park, a portfolio manager at Bitwise Asset Management, noted that Saylor has effectively leveraged financial arbitrage within the corporate treasury structure, allowing MicroStrategy to borrow funds at virtually no cost.

Saylor also revealed that MicroStrategy’s treasury operations have yielded a substantial 59.3% in Bitcoin returns year-to-date, translating to a net gain of approximately 112,125 BTC for shareholders, or about 341 BTC per day. 

At a projected price of $100,000 per BTC, Saylor stated that this could mean an impressive $11.2 billion for the year, equating to roughly $34.1 million daily.

Analyst Warns Of Risks In Leverage Strategy

Since its foray into Bitcoin, MicroStrategy has acquired a total of 386,700 tokens, with an average purchase price significantly lower than its current market value. 

The latest acquisitions occurred while Bitcoin prices were nearing all-time highs, with the company purchasing the new tokens at approximately $97,862 each, slightly above their current trading price.

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However, this leveraged strategy has raised concerns among some analysts, particularly after MicroStrategy’s shares (MSTR) fell by 16% last Thursday. 

Critics warn that if Bitcoin’s price declines sharply, the company’s stock could suffer similarly, recalling the downturn in 2022 when the cryptocurrency market experienced significant losses.

TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza remarked on the risks associated with leverage, stating, “When you apply leverage to anything, you amplify the returns both in the up direction and in the down direction.” He emphasized that MicroStrategy is a pioneer in applying this leverage strategy specifically to Bitcoin.

At the time of writing, the market’s leading crypto is trading at $95,350, registering a price decrease of 1.7% in the 24-hour time frame. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com