A previously undisclosed foreign investment tied to the Gulf is now casting a long shadow over a Trump-linked crypto venture, after new details surfaced about a massive ownership transfer completed just before Donald Trump returned to office.
Key takeaways:
A UAE-backed investor quietly acquired nearly half of a Trump-linked crypto firm just before the presidential transition.
Large portions of the funds flowed to Trump family-controlled and co-founder-related entities.
The deal strengthened Abu Dhabi’s influence inside the project and ties it to broader AI and crypto ambitions.
In early 2025, as Washington was preparing for a presidential transition, nearly half of World Liberty Financial quietly changed hands. The buyer was Aryam Investment 1, an Abu Dhabi-based entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The price tag: $500 million for a 49% stake, according to documents cited by The Wall Street Journal.
The transaction was never publicly announced at the time. Instead, it came to light months later, after World Liberty disclosed a sharp reduction in Trump family ownership without explaining who had taken their place.
Money flows to Trump-linked entities
The structure of the deal adds to its sensitivity. Roughly half of the agreed sum was paid upfront, with about $187 million flowing to entities controlled by the Trump family. Additional payments reportedly went to companies connected to World Liberty’s co-founders, including relatives of Steve Witkoff.
The agreement itself was signed by Eric Trump, according to people familiar with the matter, further tying the transaction to the president’s inner circle – even as the White House later distanced Donald Trump from the deal.
Abu Dhabi’s influence inside the startup
Following the investment, Aryam emerged as World Liberty Financial’s largest outside shareholder. Executives linked to Abu Dhabi-based AI group G42 were brought in to help manage Aryam and took board seats at the crypto startup, giving the UAE-backed investor direct influence over its strategic direction.
That connection matters because World Liberty’s infrastructure has already been used in other high-profile transactions. Weeks before Washington and Abu Dhabi announced a new framework for advanced AI chip access, another Tahnoon-led firm, MGX, reportedly relied on World Liberty’s stablecoin to complete a $2 billion investment into Binance.
Politics, technology, and timing
Tahnoon has been a central figure in the UAE’s push to become a global AI and technology powerhouse. Under the previous US administration, his efforts to obtain advanced American-made AI chips were constrained by national security concerns. After Trump’s election, that environment shifted. Tahnoon held multiple meetings with Trump and senior officials, and the administration later signaled it would allow the UAE access to large volumes of high-end AI chips each year.
While no direct link has been established between those policy moves and the World Liberty deal, the timing has fueled questions about overlapping financial and geopolitical interests.
Denials, but rising scrutiny
Both World Liberty Financial and the White House have rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing. Spokespeople insist that Donald Trump was not involved in the transaction and that it carried no influence over US decision-making.
Still, the combination of secrecy, foreign capital, crypto infrastructure, and a sitting US president’s business orbit is likely to keep this deal under close examination. What began as a quiet investment has now become a flashpoint at the intersection of digital finance, geopolitics, and presidential power.
