Alt5 Sigma, a company linked to the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture, suspended its CEO Peter Tassiopoulos on October 16 with no public explanation, following a 74% plunge in its stock price. The move comes two months after the firm announced a $1.5 billion deal involving World Liberty Financial tokens. Jonathan Hugh, the chief financial officer, was appointed acting CEO.
Alt5 Sigma's board suspended CEO Peter Tassiopoulos on October 16, as disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing six days later. The filing offered no reason for the action, and neither the company nor World Liberty Financial responded to inquiries. Tassiopoulos, who became CEO in September 2024, was praised by company president and chair Tony Isaac for his experience in unlocking shareholder value and exploring new markets.
The suspension occurred amid turmoil following Alt5 Sigma's August announcement of plans to raise $1.5 billion and build a treasury of $WLFI tokens from World Liberty Financial, a crypto project co-founded by Donald Trump and his three sons. A Trump-affiliated LLC owns about 38% of World Liberty Financial, along with 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens and entitlement to roughly 75% of token sale proceeds. The $WLFI token enables voting on project decisions but does not represent ownership or backing by assets.
As part of the deal, World Liberty Financial acquired 1 million shares of Alt5 Sigma at $7.50 each, plus warrants for 99 million more, paid with $750 million worth of $WLFI tokens priced at $0.20 apiece. World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff became chair of Alt5 Sigma's board, while Eric Trump shifted from a planned director role to board observer to comply with Nasdaq rules.
Alt5 Sigma's stock (NASDAQ: ALTS) closed at $2.19 on the day of the suspension, down 74% from $8.42 when the deal was revealed, and further to $2.07 by Thursday. The $WLFI token traded at $0.14268 that day, valuing Alt5 Sigma's stake at $1 billion against the company's $227 million market cap.
Alt5 Sigma, originally founded in 1976 as an appliance recycling business, underwent multiple name changes before acquiring the blockchain fintech provider in 2024. World Liberty Financial launched in September 2024 as a decentralized finance platform inspired by Donald Trump, with token sales starting the next month at initial prices of $0.015 and later $0.05. As of October 23, tokens traded more than double early investor prices but down 61% from their public market high.
Prior to Alt5 Sigma, Tassiopoulos led Sphere 3D Corp., where a planned merger with Gryphon Digital fell through in 2022; Gryphon later merged with the Trump-linked American Bitcoin in September 2025.