$500M UAE Deal Gave Abu Dhabi 49% Stake in Trump Crypto Firm

A previously undisclosed $500 million investment from a senior Abu Dhabi official has reportedly granted a UAE-linked vehicle a 49% ownership stake in the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLF).

The agreement was signed on January 16, 2025, just four days before Donald Trump began his second term. The stake was acquired through Aryam Investment 1, an investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s National Security Adviser and brother of the country’s president.

Sheikh Tahnoon, often referred to as the “Spy Sheikh” due to his control over intelligence and security portfolios, is also the chairman of Abu Dhabi–based technology firm G42.

Deal Structure and Financial Flows

According to the report, the investment granted the UAE-linked entity near-equal ownership in WLF, a crypto firm tied to the Trump family’s broader digital asset strategy.

Of the initial $250 million payment made under the agreement, approximately $187 million was directed to Trump-linked entities, specifically DT Marks DEFI LLC and DT Marks SC LLC. The remaining funds were allocated within the firm for operational and strategic purposes.

As part of the transaction, two executives from G42 joined WLF’s five-member board, giving Abu Dhabi-aligned interests direct representation in the company’s governance.

Policy Timing Raises Geopolitical Questions

The deal has drawn scrutiny due to its timing and the subsequent U.S. policy decisions that favored the UAE.

Within months of the investment, the Trump administration approved the sale of approximately 500,000 advanced AI chips per year to the UAE. These exports had been restricted under the previous administration over national security concerns tied to artificial intelligence and dual-use technologies.

Critics argue that the close sequencing of the equity deal and the reversal of AI export restrictions warrants further examination, given Sheikh Tahnoon’s role at the intersection of technology, intelligence, and state power in the UAE.

Broader Emirati Expansion Into WLF Ecosystem

The 49% stake appears to be part of a wider pattern of Emirati engagement with World Liberty Financial and its associated digital assets throughout 2025 and early 2026.

In May 2025, the UAE state-backed fund MGX reportedly used $2 billion worth of WLF’s USD1 stablecoin to facilitate an investment in Binance, marking one of the largest known real-world uses of the token.

A month later, in June 2025, the UAE-based Aqua1 Foundation invested $100 million into WLF’s governance token, WLFI, becoming the project’s largest single token holder at the time.

Binance Pardon Link Adds Controversy

The Binance transaction has attracted additional attention due to its reported proximity to a successful petition for a presidential pardon for Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Binance’s founder. That pardon was granted in October 2025, months after the $2 billion USD1-settled deal.

While no direct causal link has been officially established, the overlap between stablecoin usage, foreign investment, and executive clemency has intensified calls for greater transparency around the WLF ecosystem.

Official Response

Both the White House and the Trump Organization have denied any conflict of interest. They maintain that the President has no involvement in WLF’s day-to-day operations and that all transactions complied with applicable ethical and legal guidelines.

Nonetheless, the scale of the investment, the proximity to policy shifts, and the strategic role of Sheikh Tahnoon place World Liberty Financial at the center of a rapidly evolving intersection between crypto, geopolitics, and U.S.–UAE relations.

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