The UAE is planning to spend $2 billion (£1.5 billion) on one of Donald Trump’s cryptocurrencies in the move that sparked accusations of conflict of interest.
Emirati investment company MGX, backed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, said it will be trading using so-called stubcoin called USD1.
The coin, which aims to track the value of the US dollar, was launched last fall and developed by World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture majority owned by the Trump tribe.
President Trump is listed as the venture’s “Chief Crypto Advocate,” and his sons Eric, Donald JNR and Baron are also cited as “Web3 Ambassadors” on the company’s website.
It is run by Zach Witkov, son of Steve Witkov, the son of the president’s Middle Eastern envoy.
MGX said it would use World Liberty Financial tokens last year to invest in Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange whose founder was sentenced to four months in violation of the US money laundering and sanctions law.
The announcement of the contract comes less than two weeks after President Trump is scheduled to visit the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to the states.
Zach Witkov announced the MGX deal at a crypto conference held in Dubai on Thursday, appearing on stage with Eric Trump.
Witkoff said: “We look forward to announce today that USD1 has been selected as the official Stablecoin to close MGX’s $2 billion investment in Binance.”
He added:
Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren said in X:
“The Senate is gearing up to pass the Stubcoin Act, which makes it easier for Trump’s families to line up in their pockets. This is corruption. Senators shouldn’t support it.”
A White House spokesman said, “President Trump’s assets lie in the trust that his children manage. There is no conflict of interest.”
World Liberty announced it had sold $550 million in tokens in March, with a massive amount of sales following Trump’s election. The company used the funds to launch USD1 that month.
Since taking office, the president has taken key policy measures to benefit the crypto industry, signing an executive order in March to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a stockpile of US digital assets.
Abu Dhabi is a supporter of Redbird Imi, a fund that last year prevented the UK government from taking over telegraphs for fear of ownership of UK media assets.
World Liberty Financial was contacted for comment.
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