AI Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: AIFC), the Trump-adjacent crypto treasury firm formerly known as Alt5 Sigma, is in talks to sell its core payments business to Tokyo-based blockchain company Perpetuals.com for up to $15 million, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal published on July 7.
The proposed sale, if completed, would strip AI Financial of its only revenue-generating arm and leave the Nasdaq-listed firm almost entirely dependent on a depreciated pile of Trump-branded WLFI tokens.
Deal Terms and Perpetuals.com’s Role
Per the WSJ report, Perpetuals.com would pay $5 million upfront in stock, with an additional $10 million contingent on future revenue targets. The buyer would also assume certain liabilities tied to the payments unit.
Perpetuals.com confirmed the discussions in a press release on July 7, saying it had signed a non-binding term sheet to explore the acquisition of Alt5 Sigma Canada Inc. Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Nicoletti said the company is “currently conducting our due diligence” and that no final decision has been made.
Beyond the payments unit itself, the arrangement carries a WLFI angle. According to the Journal, Perpetuals.com has also agreed to explore offering World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin in Europe and to license its trading technology to AI Financial.
Trump Family Walked Away With $540 Million
While AI Financial shareholders have been left with a collapsing balance sheet, the Trump family has emerged as the clear winner. The WSJ noted that the Trump family are entitled to 75% of the proceeds from WLFI token sales, meaning AI Financial’s purchases channeled roughly $540 million in cash to Trump-linked entities.
President Trump’s own financial disclosure identified $527 million in income from WLFI token sales, though the filing did not itemise which specific sales generated those proceeds.
The problems began in August 2025 when World Liberty acquired a controlling stake in the then-Alt5 Sigma by paying with its own WLFI tokens. Alt5 then raised an additional $750 million from outside investors specifically to purchase more WLFI, ballooning its treasury exposure to around 7.28 billion tokens.
Instead of appreciating, WLFI has slid roughly 70% since the deal was announced. AI Financial’s stock has cratered more than 90% (from highs near $9.76), and the shares now trade around $0.53 with a market cap of about $74 million, per data.
Going-Concern Warnings and Regulatory Heat
As The Crypto Times reported in May, AI Financial posted a $271.5 million net loss for Q1 2026, driven by a $348.3 million unrealised loss on its WLFI holdings. Management flagged “substantial doubt” about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months.
The company later told investors in June that those concerns had been “substantially mitigated,” but the fresh sale of its only working business unit suggests the pressure is far from over.
The White House has pushed back on conflict-of-interest allegations. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Journal that Trump’s assets are held in “fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions” and insisted “there are no conflicts of interest.”
World Liberty Financial and AI Financial declined to comment on the reported sale talks.
Wider Fallout for the WLFI Ecosystem
The reported fire sale caps a rough stretch for the Trump-backed DeFi venture. Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged the SEC to probe WLFI over a $75 million token-backed loan and alleged securities violations, as reported by The Crypto Times. Justin Sun, once one of WLFI’s biggest backers, is locked in a legal battle with the project over frozen tokens and stripped voting rights.
Meanwhile, a governance vote to unlock more than 62 billion WLFI tokens sent the token tumbling nearly 20% in late April, and early investors remain unable to sell 80% of their holdings.
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