ALT5 Sigma commits $1.5B to Trump-linked WLFI as Eric Trump rings NASDAQ bell

ALT5 is planning to buy roughly 7.5% of the entire WLFI supply, giving it an advantageous position before the token’s launch into the market.  World Liberty Financial was co-founded by Trump family members. 

On Tuesday, Eric Trump also stated that he will be serving on the board of ALT5 Sigma to lead its digital asset strategy.

“We believe that the synergies between WLFI—specifically USD1, the fastest-growing stablecoin of all time—and ALT5 Sigma’s payment technology are unmatched. We’ve never seen anything like this in the DA space. We see this partnership as a game-changer.” 

Eric Trump

This structure puts the stablecoin and governance token of WLFI at the core of ALT5’s balance sheet strategy. It also institutionalizes leadership relationships such that the WLFI co-founder, Zach Witkoff, has become the ALT5 chairman, Eric Trump is a board member, and other WLFI executives serve in advisory positions.

ALT5 taps connections from Trump-linked World Liberty

The capital raise by ALT5 will allocate funds to buy WLFI tokens, increase the operations and treasury asset stores, settle debts and lawsuits, and finance operations. The company runs an OTC trading platform, ALT5 Prime, and a crypto payment gateway, ALT5 Pay, which processes payments to merchant processors. Launched in 2018, ALT5 has transacted over $5 billion in crypto and recently became a component of various Russell indexes.

The WLFI project, supported by the trump family, has already raised over $500 million this year via token sales. It also issues USD1, a stablecoin which World Liberty Financial markets as a regulated, institution-ready digital dollar.

The intended acquisition of ALT5 integrates WLFI directly into the financial institution of a publicly traded corporation, a move that could provide the token with credibility in SEC reporting and governmental oversight.

Market analysts note that this integration may create a perceived price stability as a large token block is locked in a corporate treasury. The lowered supply on the circulating market and the affiliation with a stock traded company could also support consumer confidence due to the anticipated wider exchange listings of WLFI.

Market reaction and industry context

Shares of ALT5 initially gained 6% on the news but quickly reversed, closing down 14% mid-afternoon at $8.22, a market cap of about $165 million. This volatility has been typical of publicly traded entities with heated crypto treasury policies.

Last month, the Ethereum treasury play SharpLink Gaming, launched by ETH co-founder Joe Lubin, watched its value plummet 90% within weeks of its initial public offering. The WLFI token is not accessible yet to the wider population, which is why the action of ALT5 can be described as a risky bet on implementing the Trump-advanced DeFi platform.

The announcement follows a broader move of publicly traded companies to include altcoins in their balance sheets. BitMine has recently announced a plan to acquire $24 billion to increase its Ethereum balance, and SharpLink Gaming added over 5,000 ETH coins to its balance. 

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.