Secret $500M UAE Investment Surfaces in Trump Family Crypto Venture

A major investment in World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency platform linked to President Donald Trump and his family, has come to light after remaining undisclosed for over a year. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a prominent Abu Dhabi royal and the United Arab Emirates national security adviser, acquired a 49% stake in the company through a secretive transaction valued at $500 million. The deal was finalized quietly, with documents showing that representatives acting on behalf of the sheikh signed the agreement just days before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.

The transaction was executed by Eric Trump on behalf of family entities, steering significant funds directly to Trump-related holdings and those connected to co-founder Steve Witkoff. Half of the purchase price was paid upfront, directing $187 million to DT Marks DEFI LLC and DT Marks SC LLC, both associated with the Trump family. An additional $31 million was allocated to entities tied to the Witkoff family, whose patriarch had recently been appointed as a U.S. envoy to the Middle East.

Transaction Details and Company Overview

World Liberty Financial operates as a decentralized finance platform and issues the USD1 stablecoin, which maintains a direct peg to the U.S. dollar through reserves in cash equivalents and short-term government securities. President Trump and Steve Witkoff are designated as co-founders emeritus, while daily management rests with members of both families. The secretive investment meant that Sheikh Tahnoon’s substantial ownership position remained unknown to the public until recent reporting brought company documents and insider accounts into view.

The timing of the deal, completed four days prior to the inauguration, has drawn particular attention given Sheikh Tahnoon’s influential role in UAE government affairs. As manager of the country’s largest sovereign wealth funds and a key figure in its intelligence and investment strategies, his involvement marks a rare instance of a foreign official securing a major stake in a company tied to an incoming American president. The arrangement positioned an Abu Dhabi-backed entity as the largest external shareholder in World Liberty Financial, surpassing the holdings of the founding families.

Subsequent developments added layers to the story when the Trump administration later approved expanded access for the UAE to advanced American artificial intelligence chips. These exports, previously restricted under the prior administration due to security considerations, included commitments for substantial annual supplies to Emirati entities. Sheikh Tahnoon’s own AI-focused company, G42, stood to benefit directly from portions of this arrangement, which followed meetings between the sheikh and U.S. officials.

Critics in Congress have voiced concerns about the sequence of events, questioning whether private business arrangements influenced official policy decisions. Senator Elizabeth Warren has publicly described the situation as potential corruption and called for hearings involving administration officials connected to both the crypto venture and technology export approvals. More recently, Warren has called on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to pause its review of a national trust bank charter application submitted by a subsidiary of World Liberty Financial.