Houston-based Freight Technologies Inc. (Fr8Tech) recently invested millions in President Donald Trump’s official meme coins as a way to push for more technology investment and commerce between the United States and Mexico.
Fr8Tech announced on April 30 a $20 million bond agreement earmarked for the purchase of $TRUMP meme coins. Since then, Fr8Tech has made two purchases of $TRUMP totaling $2 million.
“Fr8Tech’s continued investment into TRUMP puts us at the intersection of finance and advocacy,” CEO Javier Selgas said in a news release on Monday. “It reflects our confidence in the long-term value and utility of blockchain-based digital assets and provides a unique opportunity to champion fair and free trade across the U.S.-Mexico border in the interests of our customers.”
Related: Borderlands Mexico: Businesses face supply chain hurdles amid Trump’s tariffs
Fr8Tech (Nasdaq: FRGT) is a digital freight matching technology for shippers and carriers moving loads between the U.S. and Mexico, as well as domestic U.S. and domestic Mexico shipments.
“While Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s recent comments that the U.S. and Mexico are … ‘working in the coming days on options to improve our trade balance and advance outstanding issues for the benefit of both countries’ is encouraging, we see no reason why a collaborative and constructive framework for fair and free trade cannot be established now,” Selgas said. “We believe both countries have the tools and resources to simultaneously resolve current challenges, such as the flow of fentanyl and other narcotics, and maintain legitimate cross-border commerce.”
In addition to advocating for more trade between Mexico and the U.S., Fr8Tech aims to make the cryptocurrency the cornerstone of its digital asset strategy, officials said.
Fr8Tech’s flagship products — Fr8App and Fr8Now — use AI to connect freight transportation with carriers in real time.
In addition to $TRUMP, Fr8Tech purchased $5.2 million in FET Tokens from Fetch Compute Inc. on April 1. FET Tokens are the cryptocurrency that powers Fetch.ai, a decentralized machine learning platform.
“For Fr8Tech, cryptocurrencies are not just a treasury strategy; they are part of a broader, long-term vision of how technology can enhance logistics, incentives, and the movement of goods,” a Fr8Tech spokesman told FreightWaves in an email. “For example, we are evaluating how carriers, shippers, brokers and other participants in the logistics market can transact, invest and grow using crypto on our Fr8App platform.”
Trump launched his meme coins on Jan. 17, which “celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter the odds,” according to its website. A business entity linked to Trump owns a large share of the coins, The New York Times reported.
Meme coins are often created out of novelty rather than an investment. However, $TRUMP has generated more than $320 million in fees for its creators, according to CBS News.
Trump is raising millions of dollars hosting cryptocurrency-focused dinners, including the $1.5 million-per-plate “Crypto & AI Innovators Dinner” on May 5.
Trump will also attend a dinner on May 22 at his Virginia golf club for the largest investors in the $TRUMP meme coins.
Critics of Trump’s meme coins said the president seems to be using $TRUMP to allow purchasers to buy access.
“Trump appears to be auctioning off access to the presidency,” Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, wrote in an op-ed on MSNBC. “The more of his cryptocurrency that people buy, the higher their chances of meeting Trump at his club.”
Fr8Tech said it hasn’t spoken to Trump or anyone from his administration and does not plan to attend the May 22 event.
Officials for Fr8Tech said they hope the Trump administration keeps commerce with Mexico tariff-free.
“As a North American transportation logistics technology company with a focus on U.S.-Mexico cross-border trade, the Company’s primary concerns are on disruptions and barriers to fair, balanced and free trade,” Fr8Tech said. “Active and productive commerce across the U.S.-Mexico border is essential to the success of our business, as it is to many of our customers and partners. We are naturally concerned about the potential limiting or detrimental impacts that certain trade policies, such as high tariffs, quotas or embargoes, may have on healthy trade and their potential micro and macro-economic repercussions on our customers and partners, and more broadly on economic growth and levels of employment.”
