David Edwards
A United Arab Emirates-based investor has acquired $100 million worth of governance tokens from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company tied to the Trump family, intensifying scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest amid U.S. legislative debates on stablecoins.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his sons—Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron—confirmed the $100 million purchase on Thursday. The buyer, Aqua1 Foundation, which describes itself as a “Web3-native fund,” now becomes the largest known tokenholder, surpassing Tron founder Justin Sun’s prior $30 million investment in the project.
The transaction aims to accelerate WLFI’s efforts in developing a blockchain-powered financial ecosystem focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, stablecoin integration, and broader Web3 infrastructure. “WLFI’s USD1 ecosystem and RWA pipeline embody the trillion-dollar structural pivot opportunity we seek to catalyze,” stated Aqua1 founding partner Dave Lee.
Political Risk Intensifies Amid Ongoing Scrutiny
This latest investment comes as WLFI faces increased examination from U.S. lawmakers. The company drew attention in June when President Trump disclosed $57.4 million in income tied to WLFI, along with personal holdings of 15.75 billion governance tokens.
Further controversy emerged when Eric Trump announced in May that Abu Dhabi-based MGX Capital planned to use WLFI’s USD1 stablecoin to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance. The disclosure raised concerns among legislators over the president’s influence on emerging stablecoin legislation.
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi avoided directly answering questions from Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) regarding the president’s links to WLFI. Merkley underscored bipartisan concerns about foreign influence through crypto financing: “We want Americans to make American decisions—not foreign influence being bought through crypto coins.”
