AI Financial is in talks to sell its core payments business to Tokyo-based blockchain firm Perpetuals.com for up to $15 million. According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, the deal would cover Alt5 Sigma Canada, a payments subsidiary owned by AI Financial. Perpetuals.com filed a non-binding term sheet on July 7 to explore the acquisition, stating that no decisions have been made while the company reviews the business and conducts due diligence. The proposed structure includes $5 million upfront in stock, with an additional $10 million contingent on future revenue targets. Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Nicoletti confirmed that the company is "currently conducting our due diligence" and that no final decision has been made. The unit generated roughly $25 million in revenue last year and represents AI Financial's sole revenue-generating business.
The potential sale comes after AI Financial's earlier deal with World Liberty Financial significantly impacted the company's performance. As reported by crypto.news, World Liberty Financial invested 7.5% of the total WLFI token supply in AI Financial's $1.5 billion capital raise in August 2025. The company later raised approximately $750 million to purchase more WLFI tokens, but the token fell about 70% after the transaction, according to the Wall Street Journal report cited by Wu Blockchain. Following the WLFI deal, AI Financial's shares dropped more than 90%, leaving the company's market value at approximately $74 million with shares trading around $0.53. The company posted a $271.5 million net loss for Q1 2026, driven by a $348.3 million unrealised loss on its WLFI holdings, with management flagging "substantial doubt" about the company's ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months.
The WLFI project maintains close ties to the Trump family, with the World Liberty Financial issuing both the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin. According to crypto.news, the project made up a large share of Trump's reported crypto income in 2025, with Trump's financial disclosure showing more than $1.4 billion in crypto-related income that year. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump family is entitled to 75% of proceeds from WLFI token sales, putting their direct gains from the August transaction at roughly $500 million after fees and other expenses. Trump's crypto-related income for 2025 included about $515 million from the sale of tokens released by World Liberty Financial, and $65 million from sales of equity in the holding company. 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 WLFI project faces ongoing scrutiny amid rising political and ethics questions. As reported by crypto.news, critics, including Democratic lawmakers and public interest groups, have called for tighter rules around officeholders and crypto-linked businesses. 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. The Wall Street Journal noted that the White House has denied conflict claims, with spokeswoman Anna Kelly telling 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." Earlier reports in June indicated that World Liberty was nearing possible OCC trust bank approval while facing conflict concerns, with public disclosures showing that 75% of WLFI token sale proceeds go to DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity controlled by Trump.
For AI Financial, the sale talks represent a significant shift in focus following the WLFI investment. Beyond the payments unit itself, the arrangement carries a WLFI angle, with Perpetuals.com agreeing to explore offering World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin in Europe and licensing its trading technology to AI Financial. However, the deal remains uncertain as Perpetuals.com has not agreed to a final purchase, with the company stating the term sheet is exploratory and due diligence is still underway. Any final outcome will depend on price negotiations, due diligence completion, board approval, and whether both companies sign binding terms. The reported fire sale caps a rough stretch for the Trump-backed DeFi venture, with World Liberty Financial and AI Financial declining to comment on the reported sale talks. According to reports, no USD1 stablecoin transactions have ever been processed through AI Financial's payments platform.
