A cryptocurrency transaction involving a company tied to President Donald Trump's family has drawn renewed scrutiny after the public firm at the center of the deal lost most of its market value and warned investors about its ability to continue operating.
AI Financial Corp., formerly known as Alt5 Sigma, is facing possible removal from the Nasdaq exchange after its stock fell below key listing requirements. Shares closed at approximately 68 cents on Tuesday, down about 93% from a year ago and hovering near a 52-week low, according to reporting by The Independent.
The company's decline follows a highly publicized cryptocurrency transaction completed in 2025 with World Liberty Financial, a digital asset venture partially owned by members of the Trump family. Don Jr. and Eric Trump joined company executives at the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony in August 2025 to celebrate the agreement.
The transaction involved Alt5 Sigma exchanging company shares and warrants for roughly $750 million worth of World Liberty Financial's WLFI cryptocurrency tokens. The company also sold approximately $750 million worth of stock to outside investors at $7.50 per share and used nearly all of those proceeds to acquire additional WLFI tokens, bringing the total value of the holdings to about $1.5 billion, according to CNBC.
Because the Trump family is entitled to 75% of proceeds generated from sales of World Liberty Financial tokens, the Alt5 transaction likely produced roughly $500 million in gains for Trump-affiliated entities after fees and expenses.
World Liberty Financial was launched in 2024 and lists Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump among its founders alongside Zach Witkoff and Alex Witkoff, sons of real estate developer and presidential adviser Steve Witkoff.
The company's deteriorating financial position prompted the Democracy Defenders Fund, a watchdog organization critical of Trump, to request a review by the Securities and Exchange Commission in April.
Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who reviewed information related to the deal for Democracy Defenders, told CNBC that the situation contained "serious red flags" that he believed warranted regulatory scrutiny.
The SEC declined to comment on the matter, according to The Independent.
The White House disputed allegations of conflicts of interest. A White House spokesperson told The Independent that President Trump's assets are held in a trust managed by his children and said there were "no conflicts of interest."
Separately, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization told The Independent that neither Eric Trump nor Donald Trump Jr. had any involvement in AI Financial's operations, management decisions or board activities.
AI Financial also rejected suggestions of wrongdoing. A company spokesperson told CNBC that management remained focused on serving customers and creating long-term shareholder value while dismissing allegations surrounding the transaction as unfounded speculation.
