Trump monetizes privileged access to his posts on Truth Social

Trump Media wants to charge traders for access to U.S. President Donald Trump’s posts on Truth Social, which would be delivered a few milliseconds faster. This would allow them to potentially profit from Trump’s announcements that could influence the stock markets through automated processing and algorithms.

This plan raises concerns about insider trading, conflicts of interest, and unequal opportunities in the stock market. According to critics, this gives Donald Trump a financial incentive to run political ads directly through his platform, while traders can profit from them. This is part of a broader trend in which the Trump family is already deriving substantial revenue from cryptocurrencies and other business activities related to his presidency. For example, it was previously reported that Trump earned $2.2 billion last year, more than half of which came from his stakes in cryptocurrency companies.

“With every government decision, the interests of American society should take precedence; no financial interest should play a role in this regard. But Trump will soon have a financial interest in implementing certain policy changes and promoting them through this platform,” said Arnoud Pijls, a professor of European financial supervision law at Radboud University, in an interview with De Volkskrant. “This amounts to insider trading. In Europe, that would be unthinkable.”

Suspicious stock market movements have been observed in the past following statements by Trump, including transactions made just before an announcement regarding Iran and oil prices. No evidence of illegal transactions has been provided, but the timing fuels suspicion.

Trump Media is the company owned by the Trump family that manages its social media platform, Truth Social. The service is expected to be available starting in August.