Trump Media has pulled back from its cryptocurrency partnership deals with Crypto.com, including a reported $6.4 billion agreement to establish a Cronos-based digital asset treasury (DAT) company. Both firms cited prevailing market conditions as the primary reason for the decision. The broader digital asset treasury sector has experienced a significant pullback in interest over recent months.

Firms Cite Market Conditions as Pullback Reduces Trump Crypto Exposure

The decision to terminate the arrangement was attributed to current market conditions and shifting stakeholder priorities, according to statements from the firms.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek addressed the termination, stating: "After analyzing these proposed ETFs and DAT from every angle, we've reached the same conclusion: moving forward under current market conditions doesn't make sense." Marszalek indicated that the exchange will pursue other ETF opportunities.

With the deal terminated, Crypto.com said it will determine how to allocate the CRO tokens originally intended for the DAT to generate value for the ecosystem.

The pullback follows the resignation of Trump Media's CEO amid company struggles several months ago. Acting CEO Kevin McGurn stated that the company will now narrow its strategic focus. The two firms also ended plans to integrate prediction markets into Truth Social.

Many industry observers view the development as potentially positive for the crypto sector, as it could reduce regulatory scrutiny of Trump-linked crypto dealings—a recurring concern among critics. The Trump family's expanding footprint in digital assets, including World Liberty Financial and the president's meme coin, has drawn repeated calls from lawmakers and ethics groups for clearer guardrails on political figures' crypto ventures.

Digital Asset Treasuries Under Pressure as CRO Price Falls

The termination between Trump Media and Crypto.com aligns with broader struggles across the digital asset treasury landscape. Crypto treasury companies are currently sitting on billions in unrealized losses following a substantial decline in crypto prices. The DAT model—in which publicly traded firms raise capital through equity or debt issuance to accumulate cryptocurrency on their balance sheets—proliferated during the 2024–2025 bull cycle but has come under sustained pressure as valuations have fallen.

With no clear signs of a market rebound, the majority of DATs have reduced or paused crypto purchases, contributing to declining institutional demand. In some cases, DATs have begun selling their crypto holdings. Strategy, the largest DAT by holdings, has sold over 5,000 Bitcoin in the last three months to support its share price and could sell up to $1.25 billion worth of BTC.

For DATs that have not sold, price pressure has pushed many to trade at a discount relative to their underlying assets, making it increasingly difficult for these companies to fund further crypto purchases through share issuance.

While the broader crypto market recorded modest gains over the past 24 hours, CRO—the native token of the Cronos blockchain—declined 12.82% within the same period. The token is currently trading at $0.0462 and has lost 48% of its value since the beginning of 2026. The sharp decline is widely attributed to user reaction following the termination of the Trump crypto partnership. Many CRO holders have criticized the exchange for what they describe as inflating the Cronos supply at their expense.

Gold Rallies on Weaker U.S. Labor Data

Separately, gold prices surged on Friday following July payroll data that revealed an unexpected contraction in the U.S. labor market. Spot gold traded near $4,336 late Friday after rising more than 3% intraday. Bullion posted a weekly gain of over 7%, marking its strongest weekly performance since January.

The weaker jobs report reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in September. Gold had already surpassed $4,300 before the report's release. The softer labor data subsequently pushed Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar lower, supporting additional gains for the precious metal.