It is widely known that President Donald Trump’s social media posts move markets.
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On April 1, Trump posted: “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!” Iran would vehemently deny the claims, and no ceasefire materialized. But for that day, it was enough to put a charge into the markets, as investors wary of the conflict saw reason to believe an end to the war was imminent. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite all surged to daily gains. It wouldn’t be the only time Trump would take to social media with news about the war that would spur movement in the financial sector.
This weekend, high-speed access to those market-moving statements is becoming exclusive.
Trump Media is set to launch “Truth API,” a business-to-business feed that provides subscribers with what it promises to be the “fastest” access to high-profile Truth Social accounts, most notably Trump’s. But critics warn the plan could lead to further investigations of insider trading.
Critics have questioned the ethics of Truth API. Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer in the Republican administration of President George W. Bush believes the feed could easily violate federal securities law governing insider trading.
“He cannot sell that information and receive a profit for tipping off other people who will trade on that information before it becomes publicly available and is absorbed into the market prices,” Painter said.
The licensed data service will deliver posts in “milliseconds” from Truth Social’s top 10 accounts by follower account. Currently, Trump’s account sits at 12.9 million followers. His sons Donald Jr. and Eric are also in the top 10.
Reporting by CNBC and the Financial Times reveals Trump Media is pitching the high-speed feed to hedge funds and investment companies at $100,000 per month. For these firms, immediate access to Trump’s posts may influence how they trade and what stocks they prioritize. But it remains to be seen if the venture draws the scrutiny of federal regulators with the Securities Exchange Commission. Two prominent Democratic senators have already asked the agency to conduct such a review.
“If I were commissioner of the SEC, I would tell the White House that this is going to be investigated, that whoever obtains these pays for the subscription is going to be asked to demonstrate that they’re not trading on the basis of this information at least in advance of when the public gets it, and I’d let the White House know that,” Painter said.
Truth Social is owned by Trump Media, in which Trump maintains controlling ownership interest. This financial tie is central to critics’ concerns over insider trading risks.
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“The president cannot sell access to official United States government information, which includes all of his Truth Social posts about what he’s going to do as president,” Painter says. Investors are not the only ones profiting off these moves – Trump himself takes a cut. The president owns roughly 52% of the publicly traded Trump Media through a living trust. Today, his stake is worth around $960 million.
Trump has always been a businessman. Among his eight major crypto investments he earns roughly $1 billion, although the president’s net worth is currently around $6.5 billion. Trump’s profit hasn’t come from his holdings of crypto, where ordinary investors have been losing money, but in his business offering crypto products, which include a “meme” coin capitalizing on his status. Through his company, he makes money when investors buy or sell his coin.
Many take issue with this as the president making that kind of money is supposedly enforcing the law to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, though Trump insists his finances are managed by his adult sons. It also opens the door for future presidents to profit off of their position.
According to Painter, “I haven’t seen any president other than Donald Trump make so much money while sitting in the White House.”
But critics warn the White House and Truth API subscribers could be at risk, especially as stock trading has become more technologically advanced. According to Painter, computer programs can now scan social media and make trades automatically without any human intervention, providing advance notice of what’s on Truth Social earlier.
“If that person, that institutional investor, has a high-speed trading program hooked up to this service, then that could very well end up being criminal insider trading,” Painter says.
There is also a risk that hedge funds feel cheated by the system.
“If they bought stock in a big Canadian lumber company at 10 a.m. in the morning, and a big tariff was announced at 10:05, you know that kind of thing,” Painter said.
If they lose money because someone else used secret, insider information to make a trade, they could file a lawsuit in federal court.
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