Trump Media and Crypto.com are advancing a planned $6 billion Cronos (CRO) treasury through Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, Inc., with a public debut via a SPAC merger within reach. The structure centers on an initial $105 million purchase of 684.4 million CRO and a layered financing package designed to scale holdings, integrate CRO into consumer products, and generate yield for shareholders.
The new entity was seeded by Trump Media’s acquisition of 684.4 million CRO for about $105 million, a transaction representing roughly 2% of CRO’s circulating supply. This purchase is part of a broader treasury design that targets approximately $1 billion in CRO holdings, supported by $200 million in immediate cash, $220 million from exercise warrants and a $5 billion equity line of credit (ELOC) from YA II PN Ltd, an affiliate of Yorkville. The planned SPAC merger would allow the vehicle to acquire an additional 19% of CRO’s circulating supply, further concentrating assets within the treasury.
ELOC defined: an equity line of credit is a financing facility that lets a borrower sell newly issued shares to a lender over time, providing scalable capital without a single large equity issuance. The new vehicle also intends to operate a Cronos validator node to participate in network validation and staking; a validator node is a server that helps secure a blockchain and earn rewards for validating blocks. Management appointments include Steve Gutterman as CEO and Sim Salzman as CFO for the CRO strategy company.
Operationally, the treasury is positioned to finance token-based integrations across Trump Media’s ecosystem, including loyalty and payments on Truth Social and Truth+, plus a planned prediction market called Truth Predict for event trading on elections, finance and sports. Management frames the initiative as a way to aggregate CRO utility and generate staking yield, with the structure anticipating roughly 6% APY from validator and staking rewards as a self-sustaining income component. A company statement invoked the campaign slogan “Make CRO Great Again,” underscoring the strategic and promotional dimensions of the effort.
Market reaction and risks for Trump Media
The announcement produced an immediate market response: CRO prices rose between 50% and 70% on initial reports, reflecting investor appetite for concentrated-treasury plays. The deal also reignited controversy over token supply as critics questioned Crypto.com’s reissuance of 70 billion previously burned CRO tokens, raising issues around dilution and long-term price stability. To mitigate short-term selling pressure, founding partners’ shares carry a one-year lock-up followed by a three-year restrictive release schedule.
Broader ambitions tied to the roadmap include plans to tokenize up to $10 billion in real-world assets (RWAs) by 2026 and potential CRO-based ETFs or managed products that would link tokenized finance with traditional investment vehicles. These goals elevate regulatory and execution risk, and the combination of token reissuance, concentrated holdings and the inherent volatility of crypto markets creates material uncertainty for investors.
