A state-backed investment firm in Abu Dhabi is set to make a $2 billion investment into crypto exchange Binance using USD1, a stablecoin developed by World Liberty Financial — a crypto venture closely tied to the Trump family.
The announcement was made by Zach Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, during a crypto convention in Dubai, where he appeared alongside Eric Trump, according to a report from ABC News.
“We are excited to announce today that USD1 has been selected as the official stablecoin to close MGX’s $2 billion investment in Binance,” Witkoff said in a video shared on X (formerly Twitter).
“We thank MGX and Binance for their trust in us, and I think it’s only the beginning.”
This deal could mark a major turning point for the Trump-backed venture.
World Liberty Financial, which includes Donald Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr. among its supporters, has drawn scrutiny ever since its launch due to the former president’s previous criticism of cryptocurrencies as a “scam.”
The project’s business model has remained vague, but the MGX deal places it at the center of one of the largest crypto transactions of the year.
Ethics experts have raised concerns about the potential conflicts of interest posed by Trump’s financial ties to cryptocurrency while maintaining a political presence.
“The president is exploiting the loopholes in ethics laws that allow sitting presidents to retain financial interests,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.
The White House has not disclosed how Trump’s crypto-related interests are managed.
The USD1 announcement came during a “fireside chat” moderated by crypto mogul Justin Sun.
Sun, who has a history of regulatory scrutiny, became one of World Liberty Financial’s largest backers just a day before Trump’s 2024 inauguration, reportedly purchasing $75 million worth of WLFI, another token issued by the company.
A month later, a fraud case against Sun was dropped by SEC lawyers under the Trump administration.
Witkoff also revealed that World Liberty Financial will integrate USD1 natively with the Tron blockchain, founded by Sun.
He claimed that the company expects to mint “hundreds of millions to billions of dollars” worth of USD1, which he described as “the most transparent, the most regulated stablecoin in the world,” backed one-to-one with short-term treasuries and cash equivalents.
Last week, the Trump Organization said it would begin accepting cryptocurrency payments for property sales at its $1 billion luxury tower in Dubai, deepening its expansion into digital assets and the Gulf region’s high-end real estate market.
The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai, unveiled earlier this year, is the latest in the family’s partnership with UAE-based Damac Properties.
Meanwhile, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the media company behind Truth Social, is weighing the launch of a utility token and a digital wallet as part of an expansion of its streaming platform, Truth+.
The post Trump-Linked ‘Stablecoin’ USD1 to Power $2B Emirati Investment in Binance appeared first on Cryptonews.