American Bitcoin Corp. (ABTC), an American bitcoin mining and treasury company founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., saw its shares plunge as much as 50% on Tuesday. The decline occurred despite Bitcoin’s rebound above $91,000 and gains in almost every crypto-related stock.
Trading volume jumped to 55 million shares, compared with a daily average of 3 million, signaling strong selling pressure, according to Nasdaq data.
The decline is particularly notable given Bitcoin’s strong rally on Tuesday – which recovered all of its panic decline from the previous 36 hours to return to just under $92,000. This in turn pushed most crypto-related stocks higher.
This is not the case, however, for ABTC, which remains down 40% and for Hut 8 (HUT) – 80% owner of ABTC – which is down 12%. Benefiting from Bitcoin miners shifting their business plans towards AI infrastructure, HUT’s price nearly tripled over the previous six months.
Speculation about the massive share price drop revolved around possible selling by insiders. However, SEC filings show a 180-day hold that prevents most historical ABTC holders from selling until March 3, 2026.
A separate 12-month investor rights agreement also imposes a status quo until September 3, 2026, including Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. A list of lock-up periods per individual has been highlighted on the X RisenFit account.
ABTC’s reverse merger with Gryphon closed in September 2025, with shares trading as high as $14. With today’s drop, the stock is now barely holding above $2.
ABTC’s collapse echoes other Trump-related crypto disappointments. World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token is down 70% from its peak. While meme coins TRUMP and MELANIA also plunged. Trump Media (DJT) – also linked to crypto as it has built up a large bitcoin hoard – is down about 75% year to date.
