Eric Trump, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of American Bitcoin Corp., speaks during the the opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq Market in New York City, U.S., September 16, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Shares of American Bitcoin, a bitcoin miner backed by two of U.S. President Donald Trump's sons, steadied on Wednesday, a day after slumping nearly 40% following the expiry of a share lock-up.

The stock rose 11.2% to $2.44 after the first unlock of pre-merger shares unleashed a wave of selling on Tuesday, the company said on X.com.

American Bitcoin, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hut 8 Corp, is one of the several crypto ventures linked to the Trump family that began trading on the Nasdaq in September following a reverse merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.

Eric Trump serves as the company's co-founder and chief strategy officer, while Donald Trump Jr. is a shareholder.

"We expected next few days to be choppy as those shares find new homes," American Bitcoin President Matt Prusak wrote on X.com.

Hut 8 CEO and American Bitcoin's Executive Chairman Asher Genoot said in a separate post on X.com that Hut 8, along with Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and other founding partners, did not participate in the unlock and continue to hold their shares.

American Bitcoin did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The selloff comes as global risk aversion heavily pressures digital assets, impacting crypto ventures associated with the Trump family.

The memecoins $TRUMP and $MELANIA, launched earlier this year, have plunged 92% and 99%, respectively, from their peaks. Trump Media & Technology Group, which has raised billions of dollars to buy bitcoin, is down 67% year to date. Shares in Alt5 Sigma, which has bought tokens in Trump's World Liberty Financial crypto venture, has lost two-thirds of its value in 2025.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)