By Joe Light
Bitcoin and other digital assets are staging a recovery. Some crypto industry companies tied to President Donald Trump and his family aren't keeping up.
In recent days, weak economic data has given traders increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, an expectation that's supporting the prices of Bitcoin and other risky assets. Usually, such an environment would also benefit many Trump family-tied firms, including crypto treasury company ALT5 Sigma and Bitcoin miner American Bitcoin. But a series of idiosyncratic problems has made them miss out on the recovery so far.
Since hitting a low of about $80,500 on Nov. 21, Bitcoin has stormed back to $92,150 as of Thursday afternoon, a 14.5% increase. Since the close on Nov. 20, American Bitcoin is down about 47% to $2.42, while ALT5 Sigma is down 5.4% to $1.58.
Trump Media & Technology Group, which in addition to its crypto activities runs social-media platform Truth Social, is an exception, rising nearly 16% since its Nov. 21 low, though it's still down about 19% in the past month.
Since entering office, President Trump and his appointees have been advocates for crypto-tied investments. The Securities and Exchange Commission and enforcement agencies have dropped cases against crypto firms that during President Joe Biden's administration had been accused of violating securities laws. The Treasury Department has advocated for the advancement of so-called stablecoins, pegged to the U.S. dollar, while Trump himself has said the U.S. would created a "strategic reserve" comprised of Bitcoin and other digital assets. At the same time, Trump's family in the past two years has helped launch several crypto firms and tokens.
American Bitcoin's stock crashed in the first hour of trading on Tuesday on little news. Eric Trump, who co-founded the company along with Donald Trump Jr., later on Tuesday said that premerger private placement shares had unlocked that day, letting those investors sell shares. But since the close on Tuesday, shares have hardly recovered, rising about 10.5%. American Bitcoin didn't respond to a request for comment.
ALT5 Sigma's issues have gone deeper. This summer, ALT5 struck a partnership with World Liberty Financial, a privately held company co-founded by Donald Trump, his sons, and White House advisor Steve Witkoff. ALT5 became a so-called digital asset treasury company, holding World Liberty's WLFI token. Zach Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, became chairman of the company's board. Eric Trump was originally slated to join ALT5's board but instead became a board observer and strategic advisor.
Since the deal was struck, the company suspended its CEO, delayed the filing of its third-quarter earnings report, and then on the evening before Thanksgiving said it had dismissed the new acting CEO and its chief operating officer.
This week, ALT5 said it received two notices from the Nasdaq Stock Market notifying the company that it wasn't in compliance with the exchange's listing requirements.
The first notice related to ALT5's delay in filing its third-quarter earnings report. The company in a press release said it has until Jan. 20 to submit a plan to come back into compliance.
The company said it had received the second notice because the resignation of one of its board members caused the firm to no longer meet one of the exchange's rules around board audit committees. The company said that it has until the earlier of its next annual stockholder meeting or November 25, 2026 to regain compliance on that issue.
"Alt5 is actively addressing these issues to comply with Nasdaq rules. These notices in no way impact Alt5's ability to execute its growth strategy, which encompasses its $WLFI Treasury and Fintech & Payments business," said an ALT5 spokesperson. World Liberty didn't respond to a request for comment.
The Trump family's ties to ALT5 could eventually prove awkward for Nasdaq executives. Zach Witkoff, Eric and Don Jr. in August rang the Nasdaq opening bell to celebrate the deal with ALT5, and now the exchange's staff will have to make decisions around bringing the company back into compliance with its listing requirements or a potential delisting.
"Nasdaq is not relishing this decision," said Jeff Hauser, who is executive director of the Revolving Door Project and has been a frequent critic of the Trump family's crypto ties. "I have to imagine that if the tie goes to the baserunner in baseball, the tie is going to go to the Trump family with respect to their investments and Nasdaq."
A Nasdaq spokeswoman declined to comment.
The White House said: "The media's continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are irresponsible and reinforce the public's distrust in what they read. Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest. Through executive actions, supporting legislation like the GENIUS Act, and other common-sense policies, the administration is fulfilling the President's promise to make the United States the crypto capital of the world by driving innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans."
Write to Joe Light at joe.light@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
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December 04, 2025 17:20 ET (22:20 GMT)
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