The Trump family has turned to two little-known financial firms, one based in Trump Tower in Manhattan and another in a modest New Jersey suburb, to help finance its expanding crypto ventures. The partnership with Dominari Holdings and Yorkville Advisors marks a new phase in the family’s financial strategy, capitalising on the ongoing digital asset boom that has gathered pace under President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a detailed investigation by the Financial Times.
From obscurity to the Trump orbit
Dominari Holdings and Yorkville Advisors have swiftly moved from the financial margins to the heart of a network of crypto deals involving Trump-linked companies. Their proximity to Trump’s inner circle has helped propel them into prominence.
“Some of the smaller guys are faster, more nimble, and some of them have become great friends,” Eric Trump, who serves on Dominari’s advisory board, told the Financial Times. “I’m not sure you’d get that same kind of warm fuzzy [feeling] from going over to Goldman Sachs, where you would probably fall asleep in some fancy conference room over expensive finger food,” he quipped.
In New Jersey, Yorkville Advisors helped Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) raise $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin and has partnered in launching five “America First-themed” exchange-traded funds. In August, TMTG joined with Crypto.com and Yorkville Acquisition Corp, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company, to buy $1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency Cronos. Yorkville also extended a $5 billion equity line of credit to the newly formed company.
Yorkville’s complex legacy
Founded in 2001 by Mark Angelo, Yorkville has a long record of investing in small and financially distressed firms through standby equity purchase agreements — deals that provide financing by buying discounted stock when companies need cash. A Wall Street veteran described this model as “death-spiral financing”, since such discounted buying can depress share prices.
Yorkville struck a $2.5 billion equity agreement with TMTG in July 2024, buying more than 20 million shares and raising $450 million, filings show. However, the company’s past has been turbulent. Yorkville was charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2012, though the case was dismissed six years later. It has also been locked in a tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, which claims the firm owes nearly $100 million in withheld tax and penalties.
The FT reported that its reporters were turned away during an October visit to Yorkville’s office. The company later issued a statement rejecting what it called the paper’s “false and misleading characterisation” of its practices.
Dominari’s rise and Trump ties
While Yorkville handles much of the financing, Dominari Holdings — headquartered two floors below the Trump Organization in Trump Tower — has become a key partner in structuring deals. Dominari’s chief executive Anthony Hayes and executive Kyle Wool have cultivated close ties with the Trump family, initially through charity events.
“Everyone wants to focus on money, money, money, but [our relationship with the Trump family] actually started with charity,” Hayes told the Financial Times. “We’re not involved in politics, we don’t go to the White House. We hustle, we’re scrappy and we work incredibly hard.”
Eric and Donald Trump Jr. joined Dominari’s advisory board in February, together holding roughly 12 per cent of the company’s stock. A former Dominari unit, American Data Centers, rebranded as American Bitcoin after their arrival, listing through a reverse merger within six months. Eric Trump owns more than $300 million in shares and sits on the company’s board alongside his brother.
Dominari has grown rapidly since moving into Trump Tower in 2021, expanding from five to around 70 employees. Hayes said the firm’s success began “long before Donald Trump regained the presidency”, noting that its broker-dealer arm has handled more than 200 IPOs and private placements since May 2023 — “a deal every three business days.”
Crypto, AI, and beyond
Dominari has advised on a series of eclectic deals, including one linking healthcare firm Safety Shot with meme-coin company BONK.fun. It also helped toy manufacturer SRM Entertainment merge with Tron, a digital asset platform owned by Trump-aligned billionaire Justin Sun. Early investments in firms such as defence contractor Anduril and AI company Databricks have paid off handsomely, according to Wool.
Dominari also backs xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up, with Wool noting he was “probably up 10x” on his initial investment. The company is now eyeing ventures in quantum computing, space technology, and longevity research. “Powerful men have always wanted to live forever,” Wool said, referencing the first emperor of China’s search for immortality. “People want to invest in that.”
Shares in Dominari surged 580 per cent in the six weeks before its February filing revealing the Trump brothers’ involvement, while quarterly revenues jumped 520 per cent year-on-year. The stock remains up around 350 per cent in 2025, giving the firm a market value near $75 million.
“They’re uniquely positioned, with amazing access to capital, a really high profile and great relationships with the Trump sons,” said a managing director at a rival US investment bank. “It’s not at all surprising they’re doing a really good job.”
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