The UAE is planning to spend $2bn (£1.5bn) on one of Donald Trump’s cryptocurrencies in a move that has triggered accusations of a conflict of interest.
Emirati investment firm MGX, which is backed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, said it planned to do a deal using a so-called stablecoin called USD1.
The coin, which is meant to track the value of the US dollar, was developed by World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture that launched last autumn and is majority-owned by the Trump family.
President Trump is listed as the venture’s “chief crypto advocate”, while his sons Eric, Donald Jnr and Barron are also cited as “web3 ambassadors” on the company’s website.
It is run by Zach Witkoff, the son of the president’s Middle Eastern envoy, Steve Witkoff.
MGX said it would use World Liberty Financial’s token to invest in Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange whose founder was handed a four-month sentence for violations of US anti-money laundering and sanctions laws last year.
The announcement of the deal comes less than two weeks before President Trump is scheduled to make a state visit to the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Zach Witkoff announced the MGX deal at a crypto conference in Dubai on Thursday, appearing on stage with Eric Trump.
Mr Witkoff said: “We are excited to announce today that USD1 has been selected as the official stablecoin to close MGX’s $2bn investment in Binance.”
He added: “We thank MGX and Binance for their trust in us. It’s only the beginning.”
Elizabeth Warren, Democrat senator, said on X in response: “A shady fund, backed by a foreign government just announced a $2bn deal using Trump stablecoins.
“The Senate is gearing up to pass stablecoin legislation that will make it easier for Trump’s family to line their own pockets. This is corruption. No Senator should support it.”
A White House spokesman said: “President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.”
World Liberty announced in March that it had sold $550m in tokens, with the bulk of sales taking place after Mr Trump’s election. The company used the funds to launch USD1 that same month.
The president has taken major policy steps to benefit the crypto industry since he took office, signing an executive order in March to create a strategic bitcoin reserve and a US digital asset stockpile.
Abu Dhabi is a backer of RedBird IMI, the fund which the UK Government blocked from taking over The Telegraph last year over fears of foreign government ownership of British media assets.
World Liberty Financial was contacted for comment.
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