World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company backed by US President Donald Trump and his family, has reported that a United Arab Emirates-based company purchased $100 million worth of the platform’s governance token, WLFI.
In a Thursday notice, World Liberty and Aqua1 Foundation — self-described as a “Web3-native fund” — said the $100-million deal was “intended to help accelerate the creation of a blockchain-powered financial ecosystem centered on blockchain development, Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization, and stablecoin integration, aiming to set new benchmarks for global capital efficiency.”
The purchase makes Aqua1 a bigger WLFI tokenholder than Tron founder Justin Sun, who invested $30 million in the project in November.
“WLFI and Aqua 1 will jointly identify and nurture high-potential blockchain projects together,” said Aqua1 founding partner Dave Lee. “WLFI’s USD1 ecosystem and RWA pipeline embody the trillion-dollar structural pivot opportunity we seek to catalyze — where architects merge traditional capital markets with decentralized primitives to redefine global financial infrastructure.”
World Liberty is already under scrutiny from US lawmakers due to the Trump family’s connections with the firm. Trump’s three sons are named as co-founders of the company, and in June the president disclosed $57.4 million in income tied to WLFI, along with personally holding 15.75 billion governance tokens.
Related: Trump-backed World Liberty to release stablecoin audit, make WLFI transferable
WLFI under scrutiny as US Congress looks to stablecoin bill
The Trump family’s crypto business had already been facing criticism after Eric Trump announced in May that an Abu Dhabi-based investment company, MGX, would use the platform’s USD1 stablecoin to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance.
The move came as Congress weighs bills to regulate payment stablecoins, prompting concerns from Democratic lawmakers that the president was backing legislation that could benefit his family’s business ties.
At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi sidestepped a question from Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley over the president’s connections to World Liberty Financial.
“I think it’s important for the leader of the Justice Department of the United States to be very concerned about foreign influence,” said Merkley. “And I encourage you [Bondi] to take on the topic and not consider it an offense that those of us who are concerned here, Democrats and Republicans, want Americans to make American decisions. Not foreign influence being bought through crypto coins.”
Several US lawmakers have suggested different legislative paths for Congress to address potential conflicts of interest with the crypto industry. The proposals included amendments to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, and separate legislation to prevent the president and future leaders from investing in digital assets while in office.
Magazine: GENIUS Act reopens the door for a Meta stablecoin, but will it work?
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