Executive Appointments and Business Combination
Two former executives of Gryphon Digital Mining have been appointed to lead a new cryptocurrency-treasury business combining Trump Media & Technology Group (Trump Media) and Crypto.com. According to Yorkville Acquisition Corp., the appointments will take effect upon the closing of the business combination, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2026.
Once the merger closes, Steve Gutterman will serve as CEO, and Sim Salzman will serve as CFO. They previously oversaw Gryphon’s restructuring, regulatory reporting, and capital-markets transactions and previously held senior positions at E*TRADE, American Bitcoin, and Marathon Digital.
Merger Strategy and Initial Acquisition
The new entity, formed via a business combination with Trump Media & Technology Group and Crypto.com, aims to acquire and run CRO as the entity’s asset of choice for long-term reserves. The companies announced in September an initial acquisition of 684.4 million CRO at a price of around $0.153 per token, representing an initial transaction of approximately $105 million, with the payout split between cash and stock.
Crypto.com has become a key crypto partner for the Trump administration, having made a point of joining the White House Crypto Summit in March and signing a non-binding agreement with Trump Media to discuss exchange-traded funds based in the United States dedicated to American-issued digital assets.
Risks Associated with Digital Asset Treasury Plans
The move comes amid increased scrutiny of digital asset treasuries, including those of public companies, as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets have declined in recent weeks.
For instance, Strategy Inc. (MSTR) is down 36% during the month. Mara Holdings (MARA) is currently down well over 37%, Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) has shed 37.8% and Sharplink Gaming (SBET) is down 30%. CRO itself was down approximately 8% as of the reporting date and more than 30% for the month.
Whereas the merger and treasury-heavy approach would provide a bold route for the merged entity to establish long-term exposure to Cronos (CRO) — including obtaining staking yields and positioning CRO as a core reserve asset — the transaction is also risky. Crypto assets such as CRO remain rather volatile: CRO dropped recently by nearly 10% on market-wide sell-offs and rumors of network problems.
Under accounting rules, sharp declines in market value can compel firms to write off impairment losses, which harms their balance sheets and investor confidence.
And the broader trend for “digital-asset treasury” (DAT) companies has also demonstrated how rapidly fortunes can overturn themselves: as crypto prices fall and the risk appetite subsides, many companies are often finding themselves having to sell holdings — in some instances, at a loss — to meet liquidity needs or stalled stock valuations.
For a firm with a significant investment in a relatively small token (as opposed to a more mature asset, such as Bitcoin or Ether), the risk is even higher. If demand softens or regulatory headwinds intensify, the liquidity of the token could dry up, making it difficult to unwind the position without incurring significant losses.