The Trump Family's $500 Million Gain from a Crypto Deal
A recent report has revealed that President Donald Trump and his family made approximately $500 million from the sale of $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency to a company that has since experienced a dramatic drop in value. This deal, which involved Alt5 Sigma — now known as AI Financial Corp. — has raised significant concerns among investors and regulators.
Less than a year after Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, rang the Nasdaq opening bell to celebrate the crypto deal with Alt5 Sigma, the company is now facing potential delisting from the exchange if its shares do not rise above penny-stock levels within the next 15 trading days. The company has also warned investors that it may go out of business, according to CNBC.
As of Tuesday, shares in the company were trading at 68 cents each, a 93% decline from the previous year and just above its 52-week low of 63 cents. This sharp decline has led to calls for an investigation by the Democracy Defenders Fund, an anti-Trump organization.
Virginia Canter, chief anti-corruption counsel for the Democracy Defenders Fund, stated, "The question is now: What happened to all that money?" Matthew Platkin, former New Jersey Attorney General, who reviewed the matter with the group, noted that he observed "all the indicators that normally raise significant concerns among regulators." He added, "These are serious red flags with this company that warrant investigation."
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not commented on the situation, while a White House spokesperson stated, “President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children" and that there were "no conflicts of interest."
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization claimed, “Neither Eric nor Don have any involvement in ALT5, nor have any visibility to the company. Neither have ever been on the board, know anything about the leadership team or have ever been involved in their operations.”
AI Financial did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Independent, but a company spokesperson told CNBC that its "management team is laser-focused on building its business, serving its customers, and creating long-term value for shareholders," and dismissed what he called "unfounded accusations and speculation."
The Details of the Deal
The deal involving Alt5 Sigma and the Trumps included trading company shares and stock warrants for $750 million worth of crypto tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, which is partially owned by Trump family members, including the president, according to CNBC.
The founders of Alt5 include the billionaire president's sons, Don Jr., Eric, and Barron, as well as Zach and Alex Witkoff, sons of billionaire real estate developer and Trump senior adviser and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
In addition to the trade with World Liberty, Alt5 reportedly sold $750 million worth of its stock to investors at $7.50 a share, with virtually all the proceeds going to World Liberty for more WLFI tokens, pushing the total value held by Alt5 to about $1.5 billion.
The Trump family is entitled to 75 percent of the proceeds from the sale of World Liberty tokens, meaning that the Alt5 deal likely resulted in about $500 million in direct gains after fees and other expenses, according to CNBC.
However, since their debut in September 2025, WLFI tokens have lost more than 80 percent of their value, which has pushed down the price of Alt5 shares, CNBC said.
It remains unclear whether some savvy investors may have sold their Alt5 stock before suffering steep losses. There is also no evidence anyone involved in Alt5's August stock offering tried to exploit their relationship with the Trump family, CNBC said, but it called the company's troubles a "cautionary tale for investors who saw a Trump-linked deal as a natural winner in a Trump presidency."
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