A major cryptocurrency investment associated with the Trump family has reportedly generated around $500 million in profits for the family, even as investors in the partner company have suffered significant losses. The company, formerly known as ALT5 Sigma, has since been renamed AI Financial Corporation and has seen its stock price plummet by over 90 percent.
In August of the previous year, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump participated in an event at the Nasdaq stock exchange to promote their partnership with ALT5 Sigma. At the time, ALT5 Sigma was described as a small digital payments firm with a history of legal issues. The partnership aimed to provide investors with enhanced access to a cryptocurrency managed by the Trump and Witkoff families, known as World Liberty Financial (WLF). Following the deal, ALT5 purchased $1.5 billion in WLF cryptocurrency.
Donald Trump, his sons, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of WLF, were all positioned to benefit from this arrangement. According to Trump's financial disclosures, the President and other undisclosed family members were entitled to approximately $500 million from the deal.
Despite their prominent involvement in promoting the partnership, a spokesperson for Eric and Donald Trump stated that they have no operational involvement or visibility with ALT5. "Neither Eric nor Don have any involvement in ALT5, nor have any visibility to the company," the spokesperson told Bloomberg. "Neither have ever been on the board, know anything about the leadership team or have ever been involved in their operations."
Prior to the deal with WLF, ALT5 Sigma was valued at approximately $100 million. Shortly after the announcement, its valuation reportedly surged to over $1 billion. However, the investment in WLF's cryptocurrency proved to be detrimental, with the tokens dropping nearly 80 percent in price since trading began. ALT5's share price has fallen to well below $1, leading to threats of delisting from the Nasdaq exchange. The company has since changed its name to AI Financial Corporation and has experienced leadership changes, with three CEOs and three outside auditors since August of the previous year.
Additionally, ALT5 has faced legal challenges. In May of the previous year, an executive from the company was found liable for money laundering by a Rwandan court. AI Financial Corporation is currently valued at approximately $60 million.
Financial disclosures released this year indicate that the President earned over $1.4 billion from crypto-related investments in the prior year. Of this, more than $580 million was attributed to crypto activities, including roughly $515 million from WLF token sales, $65 million from equity sales related to the firm, and $635 million from the sale of his $TRUMP meme coins. A White House spokesperson stated that the President's holdings are managed by independent third-party financial institutions.
David Wachsman, a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial, commented on the market downturn affecting digital assets, including public equities with crypto treasuries. He expressed confidence in the long-term value of the WLFI governance token and noted recent steps taken to ensure a healthy market supply.