GD Culture Group Promises to Buy $300M Worth of $TRUMP, the Trump-Branded Memecoin

You probably have never heard of GD Culture Group until now, but the small technology company with ties to China managed to grab headlines

A small technology company, known for its minimal footprint and ties to China, has managed to snag headlines - including this one - with the promise of purchasing $300 million of $TRUMP, the memcoin primarily owned by organizations linked to the current President of the United States.

As reported by The New York Times, the struggling firm, named GD Culture Group (NASDAQ:GDNA), disclosed its intent to try to buy some favor with Donald Trump in a recent securities filing.

The company, which is planning to sell shares to an investor for $300,000,000 to fund the purchase, stated it will use the money "to invest in Bitcoin and OFFICIAL TRUMP and for general corporate purposes." It added that it is "seeking to further enhance its balance sheet with high-performance, scalable digital assets."

However, the claims of "optimal performance" and "efficient utilization" made by GD Culture Group appear dubious, considering $TRUMP has only been around for a few months and has exhibited extreme volatility during this time.

It's also worth noting that GD Culture Group is an understatement of a company. According to the Times, it employs eight people in total, has a Chinese subsidiary brand, and operates an e-commerce business on TikTok, from which it reported no revenue in 2024. Last month, it disclosed that it was at risk of being delisted from the NASDAQ after failing to meet financial requirements.

Which brings us to the Trump of it all. There are two possibilities of what GD Culture Group is pulling here, and neither of them speak particularly well of the President of the United States operating an influence peddling operation via memecoin.

Taking GD Culture Group at their word that they will purchase $TRUMP, it’s a pretty clear-cut attempt to curry favor with the leader of the free world while the company is in a tight spot. It probably could use some tariff relief, given its e-commerce operation and ties to China. Buying right now gives the company the opportunity to sit down directly with the President, as the team behind $TRUMP set up a promotion that will allow the top bag holders to have a private dinner with the President. GD Culture Group isn’t the first company to explicitly try this, either - a North American-based freight company announced a similar plan to get in the room with Trump by buying up his token.

But given how non-committal the language of the filing is, it’s entirely possible that this is just a media play for the company. The Times called into question the possibility that GD Culture Group will actually follow through on its announcement, or if it even has the money to do so. But just announcing that it would get into the $TRUMP business has been a bit of a boon. The company’s stock jumped 12% immediately following the announcement.

So either this company is actually trying to buy influence by lining the pockets of the President, or the market will simply reward anyone who claims to be willing to go down that route. Neither of those options seems all that great.