Rumble’s Bitcoin Acquisition

Rumble (ticker RUM), the Tether-backed alternative video streaming platform, purchased its first tranche of bitcoin on Friday, as announced by founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski. In November, the platform revealed plans to acquire up to $20 million worth of bitcoin to diversify its treasury.

The timing of the announcement coincided with the inauguration day of incoming President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for a U.S. domestic crypto industry, including the possibility of establishing a “strategic reserve” of crypto tokens.

Pavlovski shared on X, “On Friday, Rumble $RUM made its first ever purchase of Bitcoin $BTC. It won’t be the last.”

In late December, Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, made a significant $775 million investment in Rumble, with $250 million allocated specifically to growth initiatives for the platform. Rumble currently boasts approximately 70 million monthly active users.

Earlier this month, Rumble announced a cloud services agreement with the Government of El Salvador, where Tether plans to establish its new headquarters. Notably, Rumble’s cloud services support Truth Social, which is primarily owned by Trump.

Key individuals within the Trump sphere, including Peter Thiel, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, invested in Rumble in 2021 when it was valued at $500 million.

As of now, RUM stock has risen over 5% for the day and nearly 80% since Tether’s investment, trading at $12.90.