Former president Donald Trump’s social media startup whipsawed in its first session as a publicly traded company, after the most high-profile blank-check deal in years added billions to his fortune — at least on paper.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. jumped nearly 59% on Tuesday and briefly triggered a volatility-related trading halt before paring gains. The merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. to take the unprofitable company behind Truth Social public caps an eye-popping meme stock run, and provides a potential windfall for Trump as he faces a mounting series of legal and financial woes.

The shares were trading at $71.24 each at 10:38 a.m. in New York, 43% above the SPAC’s close on Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. More than 9 million shares were traded in the first fifteen minutes of the session, exceeding 24-times the volume seen for the SPAC in the same period over the past month.

Should they stay near that level, Trump’s shares may ultimately be worth more than $5.5 billion. He can’t sell the stake immediately due to a six-month lock-up agreement, hindering his ability to monetize the stock and ease his present cash crunch. A portion of that paper wealth is also dependent on shares meeting performance requirements.

The company’s post-merger performance on the Nasdaq under the symbol DJT will test Trump’s ability to capture the attention of individual traders and momentum investors who use it as a way to bet on his push for re-election. Its operations have so far struggled to generate a profit, losing $49 million in the nine months through September while delivering just $3.4 million in revenue.

The trading values the Nasdaq-listed company at roughly $9.5 billion, based on its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Trump could earn another $2 billion worth of shares if the stock meets performance targets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Trump’s ownership of nearly 60% of the company has made the listing a symbol of the presumptive Republican nominee’s ability to capture the attention of individual traders and momentum investors who use it as a way to bet on his push for re-election.

After two years of snags on the way to a listing, however, including investigations from the Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the money-losing company may have difficulty convincing some investors focused on the long term.

“The underlying business fundamentals will matter at some point. The stock can defy gravity for only so long,” said Julian Klymochko, chief executive officer of Accelerate Financial Technologies. “DJT is the mother of all meme stocks.”

Legal troubles

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