TheBlock
President Donald Trump, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, presidential executive assistant Natalie Harp and the Executive Office of the President were sued Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York over Truth Social's Truth API service, which delivers Trump and other major Truth Social accounts to paying subscribers faster than the posts reach the public. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said on the company's Q2 earnings call that more than 10 customers, primarily high-frequency trading firms, pay between $60,000 and $100,000 per month for the feed since its Aug. 1 launch. The complaint, filed by The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, alleges the arrangement gives subscribers unconstitutional preferential access to official government announcements on policy, personnel moves and military actions.
Why it matters
Truth API sits at the intersection of two of the most combustible issues in markets right now: information asymmetry around official disclosures and the fast-growing prediction-market economy. Trump Media is also evaluating data-licensing deals that would feed the same fast-feed to prediction-market operators, though McGurn did not detail what data would be licensed or how it would be used. A July 28 letter from Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff had already asked the SEC to examine whether the arrangement violates federal insider-trading or market-manipulation rules. The plaintiffs read the prediction-market pivot as opening the door to bets on presidential announcements.
Market impact
Trump Media is simultaneously scaling back its broader crypto footprint. The company and Crypto.com terminated plans for a publicly traded CRO treasury company last week and ended the exchange's role in proposed Truth.Fi ETFs, pivoting instead to a marketing agreement that promotes Crypto.com prediction-market products to Truth Social users. Trump Media reported $360.6 million in unrealized and other accounting losses tied to digital assets in H1 2026, with combined holdings of 9,477 BTC ($557.1 million) and 756.1 million CRO ($40.6 million) as of June 30.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is Truth API and who pays for it?
Truth API is Truth Social's paid real-time feed launched Aug. 1 that delivers posts from Trump and other major accounts faster than they reach the public. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said on the Q2 call that more than 10 customers, primarily high-frequency trading firms, pay $60,000 to $100,000 per month.
-
Who is being sued and what are the allegations?
President Trump, Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, executive assistant Natalie Harp, the Executive Office of the President and the White House Office were sued in SDNY by The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation. The complaint alleges the service gives paying subscribers unconstitutional preferential access…
-
What did Trump Media say about licensing data to prediction markets?
Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said on the Q2 earnings call that Trump Media is evaluating opportunities in the prediction-market space for data licensing. The company did not detail what data would be licensed or how prediction markets might use it.
-
What crypto initiatives is Trump Media scaling back?
Trump Media and Crypto.com terminated plans for a publicly traded CRO treasury company last week and ended the exchange's role in proposed Truth.Fi ETFs. The companies are pivoting instead to a marketing agreement that promotes Crypto.com's prediction-market products to Truth Social users.
-
How large are Trump Media's digital-asset holdings?
As of June 30, Trump Media's combined digital-asset holdings were valued at $597.7 million, including 9,477 BTC worth $557.1 million and 756.1 million CRO worth $40.6 million. The company reported $360.6 million in unrealized and other accounting losses on digital assets in H1 2026.
CryptoSlate
CoinTelegraph
CoinDesk
WatcherGuru