By Nate Wolf
Shares of small- and mid-cap companies associated with President Donald Trump have seen huge spikes at times over the past year. Kindly MD and Gryphon Digital Mining are the latest examples.
Shares of microcap healthcare company Kindly MD skyrocketed Monday after the company announced a merger with Nakamoto Holdings, a new Bitcoin investment firm led by Trump campaign adviser David Bailey.
The combined company, backed by $510 million in private investment and $200 million in debt financing, will invest in Bitcoin under Bailey's leadership. The Bitcoin advocate previously advised Trump's 2024 presidential campaign on cryptocurrency issues.
KindlyMD's shares were up 318% to $16.30 on Monday after the announcement. The Utah-based healthcare and medical cannabis card provider posted $2.7 million in revenue last year and didn't appear to have any crypto-related investments or operations before Monday.
While current CEO Tim Pickett will continue managing Kindly MD's healthcare operations, Bailey will take over as CEO of the combined company. His firm, Nakamoto, will appoint six of the seven directors on the company's board.
Kindly MD didn't respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, American Bitcoin, a Bitcoin mining company co-founded by Eric Trump earlier this year, announced on Monday it was merging with microcap Gryphon Digital Mining. The combined company is expected to trade on the Nasdaq.
Gyphon's stock leapt 237% on Monday following the news. American Bitcoin's current parent company Hut 8 also surged 14%.
The parties didn't disclose the financial terms of the deal and didn't return requests for comment.
Kindly MD and American Bitcoin's embrace of crypto is notable given the growing closeness between President Trump and the crypto world.
Trump promised both on the campaign trail and since taking office that he would deregulate crypto markets, and he issued an executive order in March to establish a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Bitcoin prices have soared since Trump's election, trading around $102,800 on Monday, up 48% since Nov. 5.
The president and first lady Melania Trump launched their own meme coin tokens in January, which first spiked and then plummeted in value.
But companies linked in some way to Trump have also seen volatile swings unrelated to crypto.
Shares of conservative media company Newsmax, which has publicly supported Trump, surged more than 700% after a public offering in March before tumbling back down.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the Truth Social platform, spiked before both Trump's election and inauguration. The company, which is majority owned by Trump and trades under his initials DJT, is down 24% in 2025 and 50% over the last 12 months.
Last month, Trump Media got in on the digital assets game, launching a series of exchange-traded funds in partnership with the crypto exchange Crypto.com.
Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com
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May 12, 2025 14:16 ET (18:16 GMT)
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