Shares in the parent company of former President Donald Trump's social media platform Truth Social rose 16% on it first day on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Shares for Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT) surged by more than 40% in the first two hours of trading to about $70 per share. The stock began to settle later in the day, closing at nearly $60.
Trading was so intense at point point during the day, there was a brief pause in trading of DJT to allow investors time to address the stock's extreme volatility.
Truth Social will go public on Tuesday, and could net Trump billions
Trump Media & Technology Group will be acquired by Digital World Acquisition Corp. on Tuesday. Shares of "DJT" will trade on Nasdaq.
Trump's social media company went public for the first time Tuesday morning after a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. was approved last week. The former president holds some 79 million shares in the newly combined company, giving him a 60% majority ownership and adding billions of dollars to his net worth.
The merger came just weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $454 million in a civil fraud judgment out of New York — something his lawyers said was "not possible under the circumstances presented." However, an appeals court lowered the bond amount Monday, ruling that Trump must only come up with $175 million in 10 days in order to satisfy the judgment.
"We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash," Trump said in a statement after the ruling.
Trump wins lower bond in civil case; NY criminal trial set for April
Jury selection had initially been set for Monday, but the trial was put on hold so lawyers could examine tens of thousands of pages of new evidence.
However, it doesn't appear the former president will be able to cash out on his recent gains anytime soon to help pay his New York civil fraud judgement or any legal bills surrounding his other pending civil and criminal cases. According to the Wall Street Journal, people involved in high-stakes deals like the one that brought Truth Social to the public market are typically prohibited from buying or borrowing against their shares for at least six months.
