"Priority access" to Trump posts sold for $100,000 a month
According to people familiar with the matter, Trump Media Technology Group is negotiating to sell application programming interfaces (APIs) to Wall Street financial institutions, and plans to charge a monthly fee of US$100,000, allowing these institutions to learn about the posts of US President Trump and others on the "Real Social" platform milliseconds before the public. The move drew criticism from Democrats who said it would benefit the Trump family. "Real Social" is an asset of the Trump Media Technology Group, controlled by the Trump family.
According to people familiar with the matter, Trump Media Technology Group is negotiating to sell application programming interfaces (APIs) to Wall Street financial institutions, and plans to charge a monthly fee of US$100,000, allowing these institutions to learn about the posts of US President Trump and others on the "Real Social" platform milliseconds before the public. The move drew criticism from Democrats who said it would benefit the Trump family. "Real Social" is an asset of the Trump Media Technology Group, controlled by the Trump family. The platform announced the above-mentioned sale plan on July 16, aiming to provide target customers with the fastest access to posts from its 10 most influential accounts, but did not announce specific charging standards. On the 17th local time, sources said that Trump Media Technology Group quoted a monthly fee of US$100,000 when negotiating with potential buyers of a new product called "Real" API. According to Reuters, the company also introduced a discount plan. If the company signs a three-year contract, the monthly fee can be reduced to US$60,000. The “real” API is expected to be officially released in August, mainly for high-frequency trading and algorithmic trading institutions. Kevin McGurn, interim CEO of Trump Media Technology Group, said selling near-instant access to the president’s posts will advance the group’s strategy of “monetizing its own assets.” Trump has about 12.9 million followers on Real Social, and his posts on the platform often stir up the market. Trump sometimes posts more than 100 posts a day on the platform, and his previous posts on topics such as the Iran war, tariffs and the Federal Reserve have repeatedly caused shocks in financial markets. In March of this year, 15 minutes before Trump announced via "Real Social Network" that negotiations with Iran were "fruitful", traders invested $500 million in "bets" in the oil market. The post subsequently caused crude oil prices to plummet and triggered price swings in other assets. According to Reuters, in addition to Trump himself, the most followed accounts on "Real Social" also include his eldest son Donald Trump Jr., second son Eric Trump, as well as well-known Trump supporters such as Dan Bongino and Sean Hannity. (CCTV News) (