Nine in 10 hedge funds say no to Trump Media’s Truth API: Hedgeweek® poll
Cost and a noisy signal outweigh speed, as just 7.5% of managers would consider paying $100,000 a month for faster access to Trump’s market-moving posts. Hedge fund managers have shown little appetite for Trump Media and Technology Group’s Truth API, a service selling faster access to posts on the platform the president uses to make policy announcements. In a Hedgeweek poll of 50 hedge fund…
A recent Hedgeweek poll of 50 hedge fund managers reveals that nine out of ten are rejecting Trump Media and Technology Group’s Truth API. The service offers faster access to posts on the platform President Trump uses for policy announcements. Just 7.5% of the managers would consider paying $100,000 a month for the premium feed.
Two respondents said they would definitely subscribe, while one more indicated they could consider it. The remaining respondents firmly opposed the service. More than half of the respondents answered "absolutely not" without providing a reason. The cost was the primary reason for rejection, with 15% of respondents stating that the price did not justify the edge.
Additionally, 12.5% cited reputational or compliance concerns, while 10% claimed the signal was too noisy or unreliable for trading purposes. The strong sentiment against the API is evident, with more than half of the respondents dismissing the idea outright without needing a reason. Furthermore, three times as many respondents who cited cost or signal quality said they would consider subscribing compared to those who would.
The Truth API has attracted political scrutiny since its launch earlier this year. It provides accelerated access to posts from Truth Social's top 10 trending accounts. Democratic lawmakers have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether the service violates federal securities laws, arguing that paying for early access to the president's market-moving posts constitutes insider trading.
Trump Media and Technology Group CEO Kevin McGurn declined to comment on the inquiries, stating that "some of these investigations are ongoing." He described the API as cash-positive and noted that high-frequency trading firms had been requesting such a feed for approximately 18 months. He also argued that the technology is no different from data products offered by other social media platforms.
However, the fact that only a small portion of hedge funds is interested in the product suggests that the majority of managers view the few-second head start on a post as insignificant compared to the $1.2 million annual fees. The relatively low number of managers citing compliance concerns further indicates that the product's reception is primarily based on economic factors.
If the SEC were to take a stance on the issue, the compliance concerns could quickly become the deciding factor. Nevertheless, based on the current response from hedge fund managers, it is clear that the president's posts offer market-moving potential, but most funds are not willing to pay a premium to access them first in real-time.
Written by urgent.news from Hedgeweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
