Trump Media to raise $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin

Cryptocurrency

Summary:

Trump Media plans to raise $2.5 billion to build a major Bitcoin treasury, integrating crypto into its ecosystem. The move follows Trump’s pro-crypto stance and aims to expand digital finance offerings.

Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) is doubling down on cryptocurrency, unveiling plans Tuesday to create what it claims will be one of the largest bitcoin treasuries held by any public company.

The initiative is backed by a $2.5 billion private funding round, with commitments from roughly 50 institutional investors, according to a company press release. The deal includes $1.5 billion in Trump Media common stock and $1 billion in convertible senior secured notes, set to close on or around May 29.

Once finalized, the move will place bitcoin directly on Trump Media’s balance sheet, alongside existing cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaling $759 million as of the end of Q1 2025.

Shares of Trump Media, which are majority owned by the President Donald Trump, fell over 7% in early trading following the announcement. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), meanwhile, is hovering near record highs, trading around $110,000 per coin.

Trump Media, the parent company of social media platform Truth Social, streaming service Truth+, and fintech brand Truth.Fi, said the bitcoin play is part of a broader strategy to integrate digital assets across its media and financial ecosystem.

"We view bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom, and now Trump Media will hold cryptocurrency as a crucial part of our assets," Trump Media CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes said in the release.

Nunes called it a "big step forward" in Trump Media’s plans to transform into a diversified holding company focused on acquiring "profit-generating, crown jewel assets consistent with America First principles."

Earlier this year, the company revealed plans to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), part of a broader expansion into digital finance that includes trademark filings for a "Bitcoin Plus ETF" and other investment products. The move builds on Trump’s vocal support for cryptocurrency during his campaign, when he pledged to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet."

Just before taking office, his team introduced official meme coins for the 47th president (TRUMP) and First Lady Melania Trump (MELANIA) on the Solana (SOL) blockchain.

Source: finance.yahoo

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Adam

Economic

Who's the dumb money now?

As $74 billion flowed out of equity mutual funds and ETFs in April, retail investors bought the dip and participated in the fastest snapback in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) since 1982.

Retail investor inflows have surpassed $50 billion since April 8, according to a May 15 note from JPMorgan quantitative strategist Emma Wu. Although the pace of purchases slowed from "dip-buying weeks," Wu noted on Thursday that retail investors still bought $7.5 billion in equities over the past week.

"I have to give retail a back-clap because they had been buying the dip all the way through," RBC Capital Markets derivatives strategist Amy Wu Silverman said on Catalysts (see video above). "It was really the institutional investor base that massively de-grossed [i.e., reduced exposure to financial markets]. So they're the ones who actually have to catch up right now."

Data from investing platform Public indicates that investors who bought the dip between April 3 and May 9 earned a nearly 12% return. That winning streak led Bank of America's retail clients to sell stocks and take profits for the first time in 23 weeks prior to Memorial Day, according to a note from BofA senior US equity strategist Jill Carey Hall.

Public founder and CEO Leif Abraham said the buy-the-dip strategy has become the norm, noting that "the concept of buying the dip has definitely become sort of retail investing culture."

So what did the so-called smart money get wrong about the volatility and subsequent rally?

Part of the reason is baked into the demands of the role, according to Silverman.

"The pickle that an institutional investor is in ... [is] you're usually benchmarked to the S&P 500," she said. "So the S&P 500 goes up 15%, and you went up 5%. That's not great."

It can be hard to justify fees if you're not beating the benchmark. Silverman calls this "career risk," which she said is something that isn't talked about enough.

Retail investors benefit from a longer time horizon that institutional investors can't enjoy, since they are judged annually.

"We miss a lot of returns," Invesco global market strategist Brian Levitt acknowledged. "Investors are still their own worst enemies."

Levitt added that the lesson for long-term investors to stay the course in market volatility is a tale as old as time and not necessarily a strategy that indicates retail is winning.

"Great days almost always happen near the worst days," Levitt said. "We've been through this so many times now. ... If you had told me when I graduated college in '98 that I would live through a tech wreck, a global financial crisis ... I wouldn't have thought that I would be up 12% a year in the broad US market."

To be sure, retail or institutional buying can't protect investors from looming headwinds.

Silverman warned investors to expect "uglier outcomes just down the road" because of how the 90-day tariff pauses were implemented.

Source: finance.yahoo

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Thomas

Economic

Stocks

Wall Street stocks climbed on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to impose 50% tariffs on the European Union, easing trade tensions and boosting sentiment as markets reopened after the Memorial Day break.

On Sunday, Trump restored a July 9 tariff deadline to allow for talks between Washington and the 27-nation European bloc.

He had initially threatened EU tariffs on Friday, alongside announcements of higher levies on Apple'siPhones.

"The threat of 50% tariffs on the EU is likely a negotiation tactic to force dialogue on difficult issues such as non-tariff barriers," Glenmede analysts said in a note.

Asian and European markets were mixed after rising on Monday, although moves in U.S. assets were more pronounced as traders returned after the long weekend.

At 11:22 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Averagerose 507.15 points, or 1.22%, to 42,111.45, the S&P 500gained 91.87 points, or 1.58%, to 5,894.63, and the Nasdaq Compositeadded 373.75 points, or 2.00%, to 19,110.68.

Most megacap and growth stocks jumped with Nvidia, up 2.9%, leading gains. The AI bellwether is slated to report quarterly earnings after markets close on Wednesday.

All 11 S&P sub-sectors moved higher, with consumer discretionaryand information technologybeing the biggest gainers.

Long-dated U.S. Treasury yields dipped, while those on the 30-year note (US30YT=RR) were set for their biggest one-day fall since mid-April, mimicking a steep price rally in longer-term Japanese debt.

In economic data, minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting are scheduled for release on Wednesday.

An index tracking consumer confidence rose to 98 in May, a Conference Board report showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to stand at 87.

A number of Fed officials are expected to speak through the week. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Tuesday called for holding interest rates steady until the impact of higher tariffs on inflation became clear.

Personal Consumption Expenditure data - the Fed's favored inflation indicator - for May as well as a second estimate of first-quarter GDP are also scheduled to be released later this week.

Wall Street witnessed sharp weekly losses on Friday as worries about mounting U.S. debt and Trump's latest trade policy shakeup sparked a broad selloff. His sweeping tax bill - which is expected to substantially expand federal debt - won a crucial House vote last Thursday.

Equities have witnessed immense volatility since the start of the year, with the S&P 500 falling almost 19% in April from its February record highs. However, the benchmark is now about 4% away from its highs as easing trade concerns and tame inflation data spurred a risk-on rally.

Temu-parent PDD Holdingsdropped 15.3% after reporting a 47% fall in first-quarter profit and missed quarterly revenue estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 5.38-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.95-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 73 new highs and 41 new lows.

Source: TradingView

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Adam

Commodity

Oil prices eased on Tuesday, on expectations OPEC+ will decide to increase output at a meeting later this week, while a decrease in trade tensions provided some support.

Brent crude futures were down 31 cents, or 0.5%, at $64.42 a barrel by 1341 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 30 cents, or around 0.5%, to $61.23 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, is not expected to change policy at a meeting on Wednesday.

However, another meeting on Saturday is likely to agree to a further accelerated oil output hike for July, three delegates from the group told Reuters.

To an extant, the oil supply increase had also been priced in, said SEB analyst Ole Hvalbye.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said the upside remains limited until it is clear what OPEC+ will decide on Saturday, although he said easing trade concerns were supportive.

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to extend trade talks with the European Union until July 9 alleviated immediate fears of tariffs that could suppress fuel demand.

Uncertainty over whether a deal can be reached between Iran and the United States added to a more bullish mood.

If nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran fail, it could mean continued sanctions on Iran, which would limit Iranian oil supply.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Iran would be able to survive if negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear programme fail to secure a deal.

source :Reuters

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Adam

Commodity

Natural Gas Technical Analysis

Natural gas markets have plunged during early trading on Tuesday, only to turn around and show signs of life as the market has been very choppy. Keep in mind that this time of year is typically very bearish for natural gas as temperatures rise in places like New York, Boston, Frankfurt, London, some of your bigger cities around the world that consume natural gas and use it for heat. So, as that catalyst peels off for the year, you typically see downward pressure. There is a little blip where we refill the storage tanks in the United States, which I believe just happened.

So now the question is, where do we go from here? There are concerns about a recession, although that’s looking less likely. So that might keep natural gas a little bit elevated. Nonetheless, I am more bearish than bullish. So, I do look for signs of exhaustion to sell into on shorter term charts. In the short term though, I think we are going to continue to dance around the 200 day EMA as well as the 50 day EMA, ultimately finding a reason to fall apart and go looking to the $3 level.

Anything below $2.80 opens up a trap door towards the $2 area. I don’t have a scenario in which I’m buying natural gas at the moment, unless of course something changes completely. Some of the tensions between Russia and the West continue to keep the market somewhat afloat, but keep in mind that the demand is starting to drop off, so I think that is somewhat counterbalanced at the moment.

Unless there is an external factor to really drive down the supply of natural gas or increase the demand, I think it still needs to prove itself on rallies, and at the first signs of hesitation, I’m willing to get short. This will probably be more of a choppy run lower than we had seen in the past few months, and quite frankly, multiple years preceding.

Source: fxempire

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Warren Takunda

Cryptocurrency

Key points:

XRP derivatives markets turn bearish amid reducing institutional demand, suggesting further downside for XRP price.

XRP’s descending triangle breakout could lead to a decline toward $1.96.

XRP has rebounded by more than 45% since April 7 lows to trade at $2.31 on May 27. But the price remains 31% below its January 2025 peak of $3.40, raising concerns about XRP’s ability to rise higher.

Will XRP’s price drop from the current levels in the coming days?

XRP derivatives data lean bearish

One of the clearest signs that there could be trouble ahead for XRP is the presence of neutral funding rates and decreasing open interest (OI) in its futures markets.

Funding rates are periodic payments made between long and short traders in perpetual futures contracts to keep prices aligned with the spot market.

When neutral, it indicates a balance between long and short positions, reflecting a lack of strong directional bias among traders.

XRP funding rates have hovered around 0% since February, indicating that traders are ambivalent. This could lead to continued price consolidation or sideways movement as the market lacks a clear catalyst for a breakout. Is XRP Price Going to Crash Again?_1

XRP perpetual futures funding rates across all exchanges. Source: Glassnode

Meanwhile, XRP’s OI in the futures market has dropped to $3.2 billion, down 9.6% from its three-month peak of $3.52 billion on May 13. Is XRP Price Going to Crash Again?_2

XRP futures open interest. Source: Glassnode

Historically, assets with declining open interest struggle to maintain upward momentum, as there’s insufficient capital and enthusiasm to drive prices higher.

For XRP, this could mean that even minor selling pressure might trigger a cascade of liquidations, especially if leveraged positions are unwound.

Without renewed interest from institutional or retail traders, XRP’s price risks sliding back into a downward spiral.

Investors de-risk from XRP investment products

Institutional demand for XRP investment products appears to be waning, according to data from CoinShares.

XRP exchange-traded products (ETPs) posted the largest weekly outflow of $37.2 million, breaking an impressive 80-week inflow streak. This brought month-to-date outflows to $28.6 million. Is XRP Price Going to Crash Again?_3

Flows into crypto investment products. Source: CoinShares

While CoinShares did not highlight any reasons why XRP-related products experienced the largest outflows, other top-cap cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether and Solana recorded significant net inflows of $2.9 billion, $326 million and $4.3 million, respectively.

This indicates a decreased institutional appetite for XRP investment products, a negative catalyst for the XRP price.

XRP descending triangle hints at 16% price drop

The XRP price chart has been forming a descending triangle pattern on its four-hour chart since May 14, characterized by a flat support level and a downward-sloping resistance line.

A descending triangle is a chart pattern that forms after a sharp uptrend is seen as a bearish reversal indicator. As a rule, the pattern resolves when the price breaks below the flat support level and falls by as much as the triangle’s maximum height. Is XRP Price Going to Crash Again?_4

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls are struggling to keep XRP above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA), currently at $2.18, signaling a lack of strength.

If this trend continues, a close below the 200-day SMA at $2.31 could sink the XRP/USDT pair toward the triangle’s support line at $2.28.

If this support fails, XRP price could tumble toward the downside target at around $1.96 by the end of May, down 16% from current price levels.

XRP’s descending triangle target echoes an earlier analysis that warned of a possible decline to as low as $1.61 if key support levels didn’t hold.

Conversely, a clear breakout above the triangle’s resistance line at $2.35 (the 50-day SMA) would invalidate the bearish structure, putting XRP in a good position to rally toward the $3.00 psychological level.

Source: Cointelegraph

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Warren Takunda

Economic

The markets will be closely watching an auction of Japan's longest tenor bonds on Wednesday to see if debt investors will continue to put up with the worsening finances of major government issuers.

Bond yields, particularly on the long end, have surged around the world in recent weeks as concerns mount over fiscal deficits.

Heavily indebted Japan's government bonds are the "canary in the global duration coalmine," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote last week after poor demand at a sale of 20-year bonds.

JGBs rallied sharply in the afternoon on Tuesday after Reuters reported that the Ministry of Finance may tweak its issuance plan to reduce issuance of super-long bonds.

That would come too late to impact Wednesday's sale of about 500 billion yen ($3.5 billion) of 40-year bonds, whose yields touched a record high 3.675% last week, along with an all-time high for 30-year paper and a multi-decade peak for 20-year debt.

Long-dated debt has sold off on concerns tax cuts and a chaotic roll-out of sweeping tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump will stoke inflation and impel governments to spend more. That has driven up the term premium - the extra yield offered to buyers in exchange for locking up their money in longer-dated securities. Japan Auction of 40-Year Debt in Focus for Signs of Sovereign Fiscal Stress_1

Japan Auction of 40-Year Debt in Focus for Signs of Sovereign Fiscal Stress_1

Bar chart depicting general government debt as percentage of GDP

Moody's on May 17 became the last major rating agency to strip the United States of its top grade because of growing debt, which stands at about 124% of GDP.

But the situation is more precarious in Japan, where the debt ratio is double that amount and the central bank has slashed its bond buying to support the economy.

Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato warned that higher rates could further imperil Japan's finances and pledged "appropriate" management of its debt.

What sets Japan apart from other markets is that its finance chiefs are directly addressing the dramatic runup in longer yields and acting to prop them up, said Shoki Omori, chief desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.

"If you look at other places in the world, say Europe or the U.S., I don't think any policymakers are saying that they will support the long end," Omori said. "If you look at the U.S., it's the opposite."

fixed income markets been telling us then over the last week?

A reduction in issuance of 20-, 30- or 40-year JGBs would be counterbalanced by increased sales of shorter-dated debt, sources told Reuters, meaning overall issuance for the fiscal year would remain at 172.3 trillion yen.

The change would be positive for super-long bonds, but now attention turns to how much the MOF will scale things back by, said Shinichiro Kadota, head of Japan FX and rates strategy at Barclays Securities Japan.

"A smaller-than-expected reduction could be a cue for a sell-off," Kadota said.

The MOF may look to pre-COVID levels of super-long supply, which would be about 3 trillion yen less than current levels, Societe Generale analysts said in a note.

The trigger for last week's sell-offs in JGBs was an auction of 20-year debt that saw the tail - the difference between the lowest and average accepted prices - reach its widest since 1987, signalling weak demand.

The 40-year sale on Wednesday won't have a tail due to a difference in auction procedure, but traders may watch the bid-to-cover ratio, with higher numbers indicating healthier demand. The longest tenor bonds have averaged ratios of 3 since they were first sold in 2007.

Mizuho's Omori said the auction is likely to go well due to speculation over MOF issuance tweaks, but it may be a short-term fix.

"There's not going to be many other catalysts for long-term yield support," he said.