The Trump Family's Crypto Empire Is Expanding—Fast

Gizmodo

4 days ago

The Trump family's crypto empire is making another major move on Wall Street.
World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm founded by the Trump family last September, has struck a massive deal that will see a publicly traded fintech company, ALT5 Sigma, purchase up to $1.5 billion of the family's proprietary cryptocurrency, $WLFI.
The deal is a landmark event that further intertwines the Trump family's private business ventures with President Donald Trump's increasingly pro-crypto government policies, a move made amidst an continuing conversation about the ethics or legality of such crossover.
According to filings with the Security and Exchange Commission, ALT5 Sigma plans to sell $1.5 billion of its own shares and use the proceeds to buy the $WLFI token, which it will then hold on its corporate balance sheet. The deal also installs key Trump allies on ALT5's board: Eric Trump will become a board member, and Zach Witkoff, a World Liberty co-founder and son of a presidential advisor, will become the new chairman.
Witkoff celebrated the move on X, calling it 'Another historic milestone for @worldlibertyfi with @ALT5_Sigma.'
Another historic milestone for @worldlibertyfi with @ALT5_Sigma $ALTS announcing plans for a major $WLFI treasury strategy. Thrilled to be joining the board as Chairman working alongside @EricTrump @zakfolkman. ☝️🦅 @MatthewMorgan23 @WatcherChase
— Zach Witkoff (@ZachWitkoff) August 11, 2025Eric Trump was equally enthusiastic: 'I am excited to join the Board of ALT5 Sigma and help lead the way in revolutionizing the digital asset space! @DonaldJTrumpJr and I are deeply committed to the success of this company and its innovative approach.'
Breaking: I am excited to join the Board of ALT5 Sigma and help lead the way in revolutionizing the digital asset space! @DonaldJTrumpJr and I are deeply committed to the success of this company and its innovative approach. $ALTS pic.twitter.com/iXQ91xKa48
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) August 12, 2025This deal is a new twist on a growing trend in the crypto world: the corporate treasury strategy. A crypto treasury is when a company decides to hold cryptocurrency instead of dollars, euros, or other traditional assets. For example, if Apple decided to keep billions in Bitcoin rather than cash in its corporate reserves, that would be a Bitcoin treasury strategy.
This idea has grown into a broader vision called DeFi (decentralized finance), where companies raise money, pay investors, and track assets entirely on blockchains, without the big banks. These assets can be 'programmable' (rules are built into the code), instantly traceable, and theoretically easier to trade.
The pioneer of this strategy is MicroStrategy (recently renamed 'Strategy'), which turned itself from a software company into a massive Bitcoin holding vehicle. While some hail it as genius, others, like famed short-seller Jim Chanos, call it a risky stunt.
The ALT5 Sigma deal takes the treasury strategy a step further. Instead of buying a decentralized, globally recognized asset like Bitcoin, the company is using its funds to buy a new, proprietary token controlled by the First Family.
The Trump administration has been aggressively pushing pro-crypto policies. With legislation like the 'Genius Act' providing regulatory clarity and an executive order paving the way for crypto in 401(k) retirement plans, the U.S. has swung from cautious to actively championing digital assets.
This has led critics to raise serious concerns about an unprecedented conflict of interest.
The president is enacting regulations that directly create a more favorable and lucrative market for his own family's financial products. Trump himself earned $57.4 million last year from his ownership of tokens tied to World Liberty Financial, according to his June 2025 ethics disclosure.
The family's crypto empire also includes the $TRUMP meme coin, which, while not officially affiliated, has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in value tied directly to his brand. For now, the family is pushing forward with its plans to take its own token mainstream.
'The WLFI community has voted overwhelmingly to make the token tradable, and the WLF team is already hard at work making this happen,' Eric Trump explained. 'Once tradable, we expect that the WLFI token will soon become available on all major centralized exchanges as well as decentralized exchanges.'
Once tradable, we expect that the WLFI token will soon became available on all major centralized exchanges as well as decentralized exchanges. WLFI is setting the stage for global governance accessibility and liquidity.
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) August 12, 2025Crypto is undeniably used by some for criminal activity. But the Trump administration's warm embrace of digital assets, combined with family-linked ventures like World Liberty Financial, has opened the floodgates for Wall Street and corporate America to pile in. The question is whether this marriage of politics, policy and profit is legal or will be sustainable, or if it's the setup for one of the most dramatic busts in financial history.