- Trump Jr. invests $4 million in crypto-focused startup Thumzup despite minimal revenues.
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Thumzup allocates up to 90% of its liquid assets to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
- Eric Trump joins crypto-heavy Metaplanet; both brothers serve as advisors to Dominari Securities.
Donald Trump Jr. has drawn fresh attention with a $4 million stake in Thumzup Media Corp., a relatively obscure Los Angeles startup operating at the intersection of social media and advertising technology.
Thumzup, which pays ordinary users to promote brands on Instagram, has reported very limited revenue—just $151—alongside over $2 million in losses during the first quarter of 2025.
Still, the company has become a curious example of a growing trend: businesses holding cryptocurrency as a core part of corporate strategy.
Trump Jr.’s purchase of 350,000 shares appears motivated less by short-term gains and more by backing a new form of digital experiment.
The Thumzup board has approved a bold strategic shift: permitting up to 90% of the company’s liquid assets to be held in Bitcoin.
As of early July, the company reported holding 19,106 BTC, with a market value equivalent to roughly $2.1 million at current prices.
While the “Bitcoin treasury” playbook has been popularized by firms such as MicroStrategy, Thumzup appears to be pushing the approach further.
After raising $6 million in a recent private funding round, the board authorized diversification of its crypto holdings to include Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ripple and USD Coin.
Company leaders say the broader portfolio is intended not only to hedge against Bitcoin’s volatility, but also to capture upside across the wider crypto market.
The move also paves the way for Thumzup to accept cryptocurrency payments from its expanding base of more than 1,000 advertisers.
Growing Trump family interest in crypto
The Trump family is deepening its involvement in the crypto world.
Both Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric serve as advisors to Dominari Securities, the firm that led Thumzup’s latest financing round and that began investing in a Bitcoin ETF earlier this year.
Eric Trump has also joined the board of Metaplanet, a Japanese company that shifted from hotels and restaurants to becoming a significant Bitcoin holder.
At the same time, Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of Truth Social, recently secured $2.3 billion in financing, much of which is reportedly directed toward Bitcoin-related investments.
This expanding connection to cryptocurrency marks a notable shift for the family. Former President Donald Trump, once a vocal skeptic, has more recently said he wants to make the United States “the crypto capital of the world.”
For the Trumps, the move is about more than financial opportunity; it’s a strategic effort to engage a growing community of digital-asset enthusiasts and maintain relevance in a rapidly changing economic landscape.
Thumzup’s experiment—combining social advertising with a crypto-heavy balance sheet—will be watched closely by investors and industry observers. If successful, it could further normalize the idea of corporate crypto treasuries among smaller, growth-stage companies. Conversely, the company’s early losses and tiny revenue base highlight the risks of deploying a large portion of corporate liquidity into volatile digital assets.
As the Trump family’s ties to the crypto sector expand, so too does scrutiny of how political and business influence intersects with emerging financial technologies. Whether Thumzup’s strategy proves visionary or precarious, it underscores a broader trend: an increasing number of companies are rethinking cash management and corporate finance in light of digital assets.