Topline
Alt5 Sigma, which bet its future on a Trump family crypto venture and has since seen its stock price plummet 74%, suspended its CEO last week with pay but without a public explanation, according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. celebrate World Liberty Financial’s new relationship with Alt5 Sigma outside of the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on Aug. 13. Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg
© 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP
Key Facts
Alt5 Sigma’s board suspended CEO Peter Tassiopoulos on Oct. 16, disclosing the move in an SEC filing six days later that provided no explanation.
Tassiopoulos was installed as CEO in September 2024, with the firm’s president and chair, Tony Isaac, saying at the time Tassiopoulos’s experience would be vital to unlocking shareholder value and exploring new markets.
Tassiopoulos’s suspension came two months after Alt5 Sigma tied its fortune to a Trump-connected crypto venture, building a treasury of World Liberty Financial’s digital tokens.
Jonathan Hugh, s chief financial officer since August, was named acting CEO while continuing in his current role.
The stock (NASDAQ: ALTS) closed at $2.19 the day of the suspension, down 74% from $8.42 when the deal was announced; it closed Thursday at $2.07.
Why Did Alt5 Sigma Suspend Tassiopoulos?
That’s unclear. The SEC filing provides no explanation and neither Alt5 Sigma or World Liberty Financial responded to inquiries. Tassiopoulos could not be reached for comment.
How Is Alt5 Sigma Connected To The Trumps?
In August, Alt5 Sigma announced plans to raise $1.5 billion and build a treasury of $WLFI tokens from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture Trump and his three sons co-founded. A Trump-affiliated LLC owns around 38% of World Liberty Financial, as well as 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens and is entitled to roughly 75% of the proceeds from token sales. The digital token does not represent ownership in any company and is not backed by any underlying assets; it just allows holders to vote on decisions affecting the project. The deal included a private placement, with World Liberty Financial picking up 1 million shares in Alt5 Sigma priced at $7.50 (plus warrants for 99 million more). But rather than cash, it paid for them with $750 million worth of $WLFI tokens, priced at $0.20 each. World Liberty Financial cofounder Zach Witkoff was named chair of Alt5 Sigma’s board, and Eric Trump was supposed to join Alt5 Sigma’s board as a director. But two weeks later, Alt5 Sigma disclosed that Eric Trump would instead be a board observer, as a way of complying with Nasdaq rules. The token was trading at $0.14268 at 5 p.m. EDT Thursday, according to Coin Gecko, valuing Alt5 Sigma’s stake at $1 billion. The market cap of the company, meanwhile, was just $227 million.
What To Watch For
Whether Alt5 Sigma discloses a reason for the suspension and if Tassiopoulos returns or is permanently replaced. Also, any potential impact on the company’s World Liberty Financial partnership, and price movements for Alt5 Sigma’s stock and $WLFI.
Key Background
What’s now Alt5 Sigma was founded as an appliance retail and recycling business in 1976 and incorporated as On-Line Communications Inc. in 1983. By 1989, the firm was christened Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc, changing its name yet again in September 2019 to JanOne Inc., and expanding into the biotech sector. The firm took its current name in 2024 when it acquired Alt5 Sigma Inc., a blockchain fintech provider founded in 2018. World Liberty Financial launched in September 2024, presenting itself as a decentralized finance platform “inspired by the vision of Donald J. Trump.” It began selling non-transferable $WLFI tokens the following month to accredited and foreign investors, initially pricing them at $0.015, with a second round at $0.05. In July, investors voted to allow early holders to sell a portion of their tokens, though founders—including the Trumps—remain restricted. As of Oct. 23, the tokens were trading at more than double what many early investors paid, but down about 61% from their high on the public market.
Surprising Fact
Before joining Alt5 Sigma, Tassiopoulos was CEO of Sphere 3D Corp., a data-management firm. In June 2021, while he headed that company, it announced plans to merge with Gryphon Digital—a deal that collapsed in April 2022. Like Tassiopoulos, Gryphon Digital would also go on to link up with a Trump crypto project: in September 2025, it merged with American Bitcoin, a crypto-mining venture cofounded by Eric Trump with Donald Trump Jr. as a major shareholder. When the combined entity started trading, Eric Trump briefly achieved billionaire status.
Tangent
In September 2019, around the time the company changed its name to JanOne, it hired former Fox News personality Eric Bolling as president and board chair with a $550,000 salary and signing bonus of shares worth $1 million, according to SEC filings. He lasted 11 months before resigning from those roles but staying on as a director. He left the board altogether in November 2020.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes pegged Eric Trump’s net worth at about $750 million, up from around $40 million a year ago. Much of his wealth comes from his 7.5% stake in American Bitcoin, a crypto mining venture he co-founded that went public in September.
Further Viewing
Further Reading
How 19-Year-Old Barron Trump Is Worth $150 Million (Forbes)
Trump Is Now One Of America’s Biggest Bitcoin Investors (Forbes)
MGX Cites ‘Compliance History’ In Picking Brand New Trump-Linked Stablecoin USD1 For $2 Billion Binance Deal (Forbes)
Trump Family’s WLFI Token Debuts 5 To 15 Times Above Early Sale Prices Despite Drop (Forbes)
Trump Company Reduces Stake In Crypto Venture (Forbes)
