Trump Media has pledged about 73 percent of its bitcoin to an options program that allows counterparties to reuse the coins, according to a third-quarter filing. The disclosure puts 11,385.20 BTC of a 15,649 BTC holding into a yield strategy three weeks before holders of 1 billion dollars in convertible notes can demand cash repayment.
Trump Media: Nearly the entire bitcoin stack is committed
The company disclosed the position in its third-quarter 10-Q filed on November 9, 2026. The pledged coins had a fair value of 951.4 million dollars at quarter-end, up from 175.3 million dollars on December 31, 2025. The filing does not name the counterparty involved in the arrangement.
Trump Media must post the bitcoin as collateral, and the counterparty can rehypothecate it at its sole discretion. In certain arrangements, private keys are controlled by the counterparty or its custodial partners. Bitcoin Magazine reported that this structure gives the counterparty substantial control over assets that make up most of the company’s reported bitcoin position.
Another 4,260.73 BTC, worth 356.1 million dollars on September 30, serves as collateral for 1 billion dollars of convertible notes. That bitcoin cannot be withdrawn or distributed until the indenture’s conditions are met. Together, the pledged options collateral and note collateral account for about 15,646 BTC, nearly all of the stack Chief Financial Officer Phillip Juhan described on the earnings call.
How the options strategy works
Trump Media sells and buys covered calls and puts on bitcoin, with the contracts settled in bitcoin. The company says the strategy is designed to generate yield and increase its principal balance of bitcoin. Premiums arrive in bitcoin and are immediately rehypothecated to the company’s digital asset manager for reinvestment.
At quarter-end, the company had written calls referencing 4,838.40 BTC at strikes ranging from 68,000 to 92,000 dollars. It also had puts on 1,500 BTC at strikes from 75,000 to 80,000 dollars. All of those positions were due to expire in October.
The approach can produce more bitcoin when premiums are received and the underlying balance remains intact. It also creates risks that are distinct from simply holding bitcoin. The filing says yield counterparties may not be rated by credit agencies, Trump Media has limited ability to sell or use deployed bitcoin while the arrangements remain open, and the company may be unable to recover deployed bitcoin if an unsecured counterparty becomes insolvent.
Unchained noted that the options are backed by coins the company already owns. That makes the program an income strategy based on its existing treasury rather than a conventional sale of bitcoin. The distinction does not remove counterparty risk. Control of keys and the right to reuse collateral mean that the legal ownership described in the filing comes with substantial restrictions.
Accounting gains masked operating weakness
Bitcoin’s rally helped Trump Media report 409.7 million dollars of net income for the third quarter. The company recorded a 378.1 million dollar gain on digital assets as bitcoin rose to about 84,000 dollars on September 30 from about 59,000 dollars on June 30. The results release put total non-cash gains on digital assets, pledged digital assets and equity securities at 496.1 million dollars.
The underlying media and technology business remained much smaller. Revenue rose 205 percent to 3.0 million dollars, while adjusted EBITDA was a loss of 12.3 million dollars, narrower than the 29.1 million dollar loss recorded a year earlier. Unchained calculated an operating loss excluding the digital-asset gain at about 23.6 million dollars. In the same quarter of 2025, Trump Media reported a net loss of 54.8 million dollars.
The distinction matters for investors evaluating the treasury strategy. A rise in bitcoin produced a large accounting profit without generating equivalent cash from operations. Decrypt reported that most of the reported profit came from rising crypto holdings and related investments rather than the company’s media and technology activities.
The note put right is the immediate test
Holders of the 1 billion dollars in zero percent senior secured convertible notes, due May 2028, can require Trump Media to repurchase them at full principal for cash on November 30. General Counsel Scott Glabe said notices had been sent and that holders had until near the end of the month to respond. The company therefore could not yet determine how much cash it would need to pay.
Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said the repayment plan is a mix of cash and credit rather than new equity. He said the company wants to preserve as much of its bitcoin as possible so it can continue the yielding strategy and allow the asset to recover. The 10-Q said Trump Media may enter a new credit facility to refinance some or all of the notes, while warning that there can be no assurance it can obtain acceptable terms.
Juhan put gross financial assets at 2.3 billion dollars. That total included 182 million dollars in cash, 211 million dollars in short-term investments and 1.7 billion dollars in bitcoin and bitcoin-related assets. The liquid components provide some support, but the filing also showed that much of the bitcoin itself was committed or encumbered.
Price moves quickly change the available cushion
The market value of the treasury has already shifted since quarter-end. With bitcoin near 74,200 dollars on Tuesday morning, the 15,649 coins were worth about 1.16 billion dollars. That was roughly 145 million dollars below their quarter-end value. The decline illustrates how quickly changes in bitcoin prices can alter the value of the collateral supporting Trump Media’s financing choices.
Trump Media bought 4,359 bitcoin during the quarter using proceeds from a partial sale of its position in 7 million shares of BlackRock’s IBIT. It bought 6,359.15 BTC in the first nine months of 2026. The approach shifted part of the treasury toward third-party institutional management while increasing its direct bitcoin exposure.
The company also retained 756.1 million Cronos tokens, the same amount it held at the end of 2025. Their value fell to 50.3 million dollars from 68.0 million dollars. Most of the tokens remain under a sale lock-up that fully lifts in August 2029.
Ownership and political risks remain
Trump Media is not the only corporate treasury company under pressure. Strategy, the largest corporate bitcoin holder, slipped below its average cost on Monday, according to Bitcoin Magazine. The episode shows how falling market prices can weaken corporate bitcoin strategies even when holdings are large.
Political scrutiny is also expected to increase after Democrats won Congress. Incoming Senate Banking Chair Elizabeth Warren was preparing an oversight push. That comes as shareholders prepare to vote on December 14 on the planned merger with fusion energy firm TAE Technologies. Management expects the transaction to close by year-end, and the SEC declared the merger registration effective on November 5.
The merger could broaden the company beyond social media and bitcoin, but it does not resolve the immediate liquidity question created by the convertible notes. Trump Media must balance noteholder demands against the desire to retain the bitcoin that supports its options strategy and gives the treasury upside if bitcoin recovers.
The market was already skeptical of that balance. DJT shares traded around 4.20 dollars on Tuesday, up about 3.3 percent on the day. They were down 94.7 percent from the company’s 79.38 dollar registered level in 2024 and had lost nearly 70 percent this year. For Trump Media shareholders, the central issue is whether a yield strategy built on pledged bitcoin can produce enough benefits to justify the restrictions, counterparty exposure and reduced flexibility facing the company.