Trump-connected public crypto company buys startup from former ‘cannabis king’ who currently serves as an advisor, in a deal worth up to $43 million

(SeaPRwire) –   AI Financial, a publicly traded cryptocurrency firm linked to President Donald Trump’s family, has acquired a startup owned by one of the company’s own advisors. Per filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Las Vegas-based firm finalized an agreement last Monday valued at up to $43 million to purchase the crypto infrastructure business Block Street.

Company records indicate Block Street was first incorporated in Nevada in late October. Matthew Morgan, an advisor to AI Financial who also serves as Block Street’s chief executive officer and largest shareholder, shared that he launched the company roughly 16 months prior.

Previously known as Alt5 Sigma, AI Financial rebranded on Wednesday and operates as a public company that has shifted its business focus across biotech, fintech, and now cryptocurrency. In August, the firm reached an agreement with World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed crypto company, to hold $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. As part of the deal, World Liberty Financial received shares of AI Financial and board positions.

This arrangement aligned with a 2025 trend where small publicly traded companies accumulated cryptocurrency to drive a jump in their stock prices.

AI Financial’s choice to purchase Block Street is noteworthy because, during the August crypto deal, Morgan was appointed chief investment officer before that role was scrapped amid a C-suite restructuring. He later took on an unpaid advisor position, he told during an interview.

Morgan stated that the Block Street acquisition does not constitute self-dealing. He marketed his unprofitable business to multiple different public companies in late 2025 and turned down offers that could have offered over $100 million in “upside,” he told .

Ever since AI Financial first revealed its connection to the Trump family’s crypto company in August, its stock has plummeted by more than 90% amid the wider cryptocurrency market downturn. Morgan explained that AI Financial purchased his business because the public company aims to operate in two key areas where Block Street specializes: tokenization, which involves wrapping assets such as stocks into blockchain-based tokens; and initial coin offerings, or launching new cryptocurrencies.

‘Cannabis king’

Morgan entered the Trump family’s crypto network via his friendships with serial entrepreneurs Chase Herro and Zak Folkman, who co-founded World Liberty Financial—one of the most profitable ventures in the Trump family’s crypto holdings. (President Donald Trump, along with his sons Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron, were previously listed as co-founders on the project’s website.)

Morgan shared that he first met Herro and Folkman when they were younger, though at that point the three pursued separate business ventures. Morgan shifted into the legal cannabis industry and told a podcast that he had built marijuana companies valued at over $1 billion total. A prior episode of the podcast referred to him as the “cannabis king.”

During the mid-2010s, Morgan stated that he developed an interest in cryptocurrency and remained in contact with Herro and Folkman. The pair hired Morgan as an advisor for World Liberty Financial in September 2024 when they launched the project. A post on X from the Trump family’s crypto company described Morgan as a “leading game developer” on the messaging platform Telegram.

Today, the former cannabis business magnate holds the role of “global head of vision” at AI Financial. Morgan, who highlighted his past business successes during an interview, noted that he is collaborating with the company’s leadership to lift its struggling stock price. “I think everyone’s frustrated,” Morgan said, “and I think everyone wants to find a way to fix the situation.”

However, he is confident that he can help revive the struggling company. “We’re going to turn this around quickly,” he stated, “I’m not worried at all.”

AI Financial’s agreement to acquire Block Street is the most recent instance of a public cryptocurrency-holding firm purchasing a business linked to its insiders. In February, David Bailey, chief executive officer of a Bitcoin-focused company, agreed to purchase his own media and investment firms. Then in March, shareholders of a Bitcoin company led by businessman and finance influencer Anthony Pompliano voted to acquire a startup in which he held a partial ownership stake.

This apparent self-dealing has drawn criticism. In a March letter, activist investor Gabi Gliksberg encouraged the board members of Pompliano’s public company, ProCap Financial, to reject “a deal where he [Pompliano] was on both sides of the transaction.”

A spokesperson for ProCap Financial pushed back against the criticism in a statement to : “ProCap Financial shareholders voted by an overwhelming majority to approve this merger.”