Trump launches $100,000-a-month Truth API offering Wall Street faster access to presidential posts
Trump Media & Technology Group introduced a subscription service that provides Wall Street firms with near-real-time data from Truth Social, prompting legal experts and lawmakers to question whether the arrangement constitutes insider trading.
Trump Media & Technology Group announced a new service, called Truth API, that sells a low-latency data feed of posts from its Truth Social platform to high-frequency trading firms. The subscription costs $100,000 per month and is marketed as the fastest way for subscribers to ingest publicly available content, allowing trading algorithms to act on presidential statements within milliseconds.
The service could generate about $500,000 a month with just five subscribers, according to estimates. Trump holds roughly 41% of the company’s shares, meaning he would profit directly from the revenue stream.
"Markets already move on Truth Social posts," interim CEO Kevin McGurn said in a press release.
Economics professor Gian Luca Clementi of NYU Stern described the arrangement as “insider trading by definition,” arguing that it lets the president monetize information obtained through his office. Other legal scholars expressed uncertainty about the legality, noting that classic insider-trading law requires the use of secret, material information. They warned that if presidential posts contain market-moving policy announcements, the service could breach federal law.
"Material nonpublic information belongs to the U.S. government or to the American people, not to Truth Social or President Trump," Boston College law professor Renée Jones told Fortune.
Trump’s spokesperson, Shannon Devine, rejected the insider-trading label, saying the feed only provides publicly available data and that critics are “inventing a new theory of ‘insider trading.’”
The House Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Jamie Raskin, has opened an investigation, alleging that the scheme may violate the president’s duty to “take Care” that laws are enforced. The committee has requested records of subscribing firms and details of the accounts included in the feed.
Critics warn that the service could erode market confidence by giving certain traders a systematic advantage. Clementi said the perception of an uneven playing field might deter participants from trading, potentially harming market liquidity.
Trump Media & Technology Group did not immediately comment on the investigation.