(Bloomberg) -- Former president Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. powered higher on Wednesday after a stellar debut, as investors use it as a way to bet on Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign.

Investors flocked back to the parent company of Truth Social, driving shares up 14% after paring an earlier increase, and adding some $1.1 billion to its value. The move higher came after the stock jumped to a roughly two-year peak on Tuesday when the media startup traded for the first time as a public company. The gains bring Trump’s personal stake to more than $5 billion, adding to the former president’s paper wealth.

More than 32 million shares changed hands on Wednesday, making it one of the most actively traded companies in the US. The strong interest comes after the stock saw its busiest day since the company announced a blank-check merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. in October 2021 with nearly 56 million shares traded.

The firm behind Truth Social has stated its mission to fight against big tech companies like Meta Platforms Inc., Netflix Inc., and Elon Musk’s X, has drawn hoards of individual investors that are touting their investments on popular chatrooms like Reddit Inc.’s WallStreetBets forum and StockTwits. 

The potential funds come at a critical time for Trump, who is paying millions of dollars a month to fund his ongoing legal troubles, including four criminal prosecutions. His first criminal trial — alleging he falsified business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 election — is set to start April 15. 

Trump was also hit last month with a $454 million penalty after the New York attorney general proved at trial that he’d inflated his net wealth by billions of dollars a year in bank transactions. Trump has an April 4 deadline to post a $175 million bond to put that judgment on hold while he appeals.

Read More: Donald Trump Is Richer Than Ever — Yet Still Strapped For Cash

The stock — which traded under Digital World’s ticker DWAC prior to this week’s debut — soared some 278% this year. The eye-popping rally has also made it the most expensive and riskiest stock for short sellers to bet against.

--With assistance from Erik Larson.

(Updates with closing price throughout.)

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