Crypto.com partners with Trump Media to launch $1B crypto treasury firm for Cronos (CRO)

Crypto.com and Trump Media & Technology Group are joining forces on a bold bet in digital assets. The two companies said they will launch a new firm, Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, with a treasury-style mandate to accumulate Crypto.com’s native token, Cronos (CRO). The venture will go public through a merger with blank-check company Yorkville Acquisition Corp.

The announcement lit a fire under the markets. Cronos surged 22.6% to $0.19, according to CoinGecko, while Trump Media’s shares inched up 4.2% to $17.94. Yorkville’s stock slipped 2.3%. Cronos, valued at $6.8 billion, is still a small slice of the $3.88 trillion global crypto market cap — but the move signals growing ambition to push the token deeper into mainstream finance.

The partnership comes just a week after Crypto.com announced that its institutional-grade custody service now allows clients to use staked assets as collateral while trading margin products on the Crypto.com Exchange. The timing suggests the exchange is doubling down on efforts to position itself as more than a retail trading platform, with moves aimed at institutional adoption.

“Financial markets are becoming increasingly digital every day, and companies of all sizes and sectors are strategically planning for the future by establishing digital asset treasuries anchored by assets that have created a comprehensive value proposition and are poised for even greater utility,” Chairman and CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group Devin Nunes said in a news release. “We continue to be bullish on cryptocurrency, and we are excited to be partnering with a leading global cryptocurrency platform and namesake of its industry in Crypto.com and one of the most sophisticated investor groups in Yorkville for this strategic initiative.”

Funding for the new firm is a hefty mix: $1 billion in CRO, $200 million in cash, $220 million in warrants, and a $5 billion equity line of credit from a Yorkville affiliate. The parties agreed to a one-year lockup period, showing they’re willing to tie themselves to the bet for the long haul.

Trump Media, best known for running Truth Social, has been flirting with broader financial products all year. Earlier, the company announced a partnership with Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds and other products under its Truth.Fi brand. This new venture takes that partnership a step further, effectively building a corporate vehicle that doubles as a giant CRO accumulator.

The tie-up underscores how traditional media plays, SPAC structures, and crypto exchanges are increasingly intersecting. Whether investors see it as a serious treasury play or a risky wager on a single token, the market has already delivered its verdict: for now, CRO holders are the biggest winners.