Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Trump Media confirmed a capital raise to buy Bitcoin after denying reports, Circle announced its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange and Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor advised against proof-of-reserves.

Trump Media Group reverses stance, confirms $2.5B Bitcoin capital raise

Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), the company that owns US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform and is partially owned by the president, confirmed a $2.5 billion capital raise to purchase Bitcoin after denying earlier reports of the deal.

According to a May 27 announcement from the company, the capital raise comprises a $1.5 billion stock sale and $1 billion in convertible senior secured bonds, with a 0% coupon. The sale is expected to close on May 29. TMTG CEO Devin Nunes said:

“We view Bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom, and now Trump Media will hold cryptocurrency as a crucial part of our assets. This investment will help defend our Company against harassment and discrimination by financial institutions.”

TMTG spokespeople responded to the initial report from the Financial Times, published a day before the announcement, with derision.

“Apparently, the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources,” TMTG representatives told the FT on May 26.

USDC issuer Circle moves forward with initial public offering on NYSE

Circle, the issuer of USDC (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, has launched an IPO of 24 million shares of its Class A common stock, the company said on May 27.

The firm has applied to list its Class A common stock on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CRCL. As part of the offering, Circle is issuing 9.6 million shares of Class A common stock, the company said in a news release.

The remaining 14.4 million shares of Class A common stock will be offered by selling stockholders. Circle is also expected to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 3.6 million shares of Class A common stock to cover over-allotments.

The IPO involves participation from several major US investment banks, with JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs acting as joint lead active bookrunners, the announcement added.

The offering will also feature European banks, including Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities and Societe Generale acting as bookrunners.

The IPO’s co-managers include BNY Capital Markets, Canaccord Genuity, Needham, Oppenheimer and Santander, while junior co-managers are AmeriVet Securities, Drexel Hamilton, Mischler Financial Group and Roberts and Ryan.

Saylor says onchain proof-of-reserves a “bad idea”

Michael Saylor, the executive chair of major Bitcoin-buying firm Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, said on May 26 that institutions posting onchain proof-of-reserves is a “bad idea” that poses security risks.

“The current, conventional way to publish proof of reserves is an insecure proof of reserves,” Saylor said when asked by Blockware Solutions head analyst Mitchell Askew at an event about institutions adopting the measure. “It actually dilutes the security of the issuer, the custodians, the exchanges and the investors. It’s not a good idea, it’s a bad idea.”

I asked @saylor if @MicroStrategy has any plans to publish on-chain proof of reserves

His answer will SHOCK you

“It’s a bad idea.”

– Security Risk
– Irrelevant without also having Big 4-audited liabilities

Check it out 👇 pic.twitter.com/tIxUckgbEp

— Mitchell ✝️🇺🇸 (@MitchellHODL) May 27, 2025

Saylor didn’t answer whether Strategy, which has the largest Bitcoin (BTC) holdings of any public company, would publish a proof-of-reserves.

Saylor said the industry learned from the collapses of crypto exchanges FTX and Mt. Gox, but said proof-of-reserves isn’t the correct measure to take for institutions as no “enterprise security analyst would think it’s a good idea to publish all of the wallet addresses, such that you could be traced back and forth.”