UAE firm bought 49% of Trump-linked crypto startup for $500M: WSJ
A UAE-backed investment vehicle quietly agreed to buy nearly half of World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency startup linked to President Donald Trump, just days before he returned to the White House, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Aryam Investment 1, an Abu Dhabi entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, signed a deal in January 2025 to purchase a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million, the Journal said, citing documents and people familiar with the matter. Half of that amount was paid upfront, sending $187 million to Trump family-controlled entities, with additional tens of millions flowing to entities tied to co-founders, including relatives of US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, per the report. The agreement was reportedly signed by Eric Trump. The Journal reported that the deal had not been publicly disclosed, despite World Liberty later revealing that the Trump family’s stake had fallen sharply. Tahnoon’s ambitions grow after Trump election Tahnoon, the brother of the United Arab Emirates president and the country’s national security adviser, has been central to Abu Dhabi’s push to become a global leader in artificial intelligence. Under the Biden administration, his efforts to secure advanced US-made AI chips were limited amid concerns that sensitive technology could reach China, particularly through companies such as G42. Following Trump’s election, those efforts gained momentum. Tahnoon met multiple times with Trump and senior US officials, and within months the administration committed to granting the UAE access to hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips annually.
The Journal reported that executives from G42 helped manage Aryam Investment 1 and took board seats at World Liberty as part of the deal, making Aryam the startup’s largest outside shareholder. Weeks before the US-UAE chip framework was announced, another Tahnoon-led firm, MGX, used World Liberty’s stablecoin to complete a $2 billion investment into Binance. World Liberty and the White House have reportedly denied any wrongdoing. Spokespeople told the Journal that President Trump was not involved in the deal and that it did not provide any influence over US policy. Last year, Democratic senators called on US authorities to investigate alleged links between World Liberty Financial’s token sales and sanctioned foreign actors. In a Nov. letter to the Justice Department and Treasury, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jack Reed cited claims that WLFI governance tokens were bought by blockchain addresses tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, as well as Russian- and Iranian-linked entities. The controversy is heightened by WLFI’s ownership structure, which gives Trump family-linked entities control over the majority of token revenue. Lawmakers argue this creates a direct conflict of interest, as most proceeds from token sales flow to the president’s family.
MAGA Inc. は2025年を3億ドル以上の手元資金で終え、暗号通貨および人工知能産業に関連するグループがその政治的影響力を発揮しようとしています。 暗号通貨および人工知能産業に関連する政治グループは、数千万ドルを集めたと新しいキャンペーンファイナンス報告書は伝えており、今年の中間選挙で主要なプレイヤーになることを目指しています。 最も著名な暗号通貨支持グループは2025年を1億9400万ドル近くの資金を持って終え、そのほとんどがCoinbaseや他のベンチャーキャピタリストに支援されたグループFairshakeに向けられたことが、連邦選挙管理委員会に提出された新しい報告書に示されています。AI支持グループであるLeading the Futureは、年末に3900万ドルをキャンペーン口座に残しました。
How the Crypto Market Could React on Monday After the U.S. Shutdown
As the United States enters a partial government shutdown with the House now scheduled to take action on Monday, crypto traders are bracing for a potentially volatile start to the week. The uncertainty after the gold & silver price crash has already influenced crpyto market wipping out nearly $200 billion from the market. U.S. Government Partially Shut Down Crypto prices stayed under strong pressure after late Friday updates showed the U.S. government entering a partial shutdown. Lawmakers approved a temporary funding plan, but the House failed to vote before going into recess. Because of this delay, the shutdown began, and the House is now expected to take action on Monday. This uncertainty has kept financial markets tense. At the same time, the market is under pressure from a sharp drop in gold and silver prices. Gold has fallen nearly 15%, while silver is down about 32%, adding fear to an already weak market. Bitcoin has also felt the impact, sliding from around $88,000 to below $82,000 in hours. Although Bitcoin has made a slight recovery, now trading around $83,559, but still down by nearly 5%. What Could Happen to Bitcoin and Altcoins on Monday Historically, crypto markets tend to open cautiously after major such political events. If the House shows progress and moves closer to approving the spending bill, Bitcoin could see a small relief bounce of around 2% to 4%. Major altcoins may follow with slightly higher volatility. However, if lawm#akers remain divided or delay action further, selling pressure could return. In past shutdowns, key data like jobs and inflation reports were delayed, making it harder for traders to price risk. And therefore, Bitcoin felt 9%, dropping from around $103,000 to $92,000, while altcoins declined between 12% and 25% due to low liquidity. Top Crypto Analysts Expect BTC To Hit $74K In this situation, crypto analyst Ted expects Bitcoin to test key support near $80,000. If this level fails, Bitcoin could fall further toward the April 2025 low near $74,000. Altcoins, meanwhile, may see sharper and faster moves as trading opens for the week with thin liquidity. Therefore, Monday’s crypto performance will largely depend on House signals, liquidity conditions, and early trading volume.