A stablecoin launched by Donald Trump's World Liberty Financial crypto venture is being used by an Abu Dhabi investment firm for its $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance, one of World Liberty's co-founders said on Thursday.
It's the latest in a series of Trump family crypto-related ventures, including a "meme coin" launched in January, that have drawn criticism from government ethics experts and political opponents over potential conflicts of interest.
World Liberty, which aims to allow people to access financial services without intermediaries like banks, said in March it would launch USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries, dollars and other cash equivalents.
Speaking at a crypto conference in Dubai, Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, said USD1 would be used to close the $2 billion investment by Abu Dhabi-based MGX into Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange.
"We are excited to announce today that USD1 has been selected as the official stablecoin to close MGX's $2 billion investment in Binance," said Witkoff, who is a son of Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren sharply criticized the venture and pending U.S. legislation on stablecoins before the Republican-controlled Senate.
A fund "backed by a foreign government just announced it will make a $2 billion deal using Donald Trump’s stablecoins," said Warren, a member of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. "Meanwhile, the Senate is gearing up to pass the 'GENIUS' Act - stablecoin legislation that will make it easier for the President and his family to line their own pockets. This is corruption and no senator should support it.”
The White House and World Liberty Financial did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The use of USD1 in the deal highlights World Liberty's growing clout in the global crypto industry, and its ties to Binance. USD1 is issued on Binance's blockchain.
Stablecoins are an increasingly lucrative cog in global crypto trading. Their issuers typically profit by earning interest from the Treasuries and other assets that underpin them.
The value of USD1 in circulation reached about $2.1 billion on Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap data, making it one of the fastest-growing stablecoins. The identity of its major holders, however, remains unclear.
An anonymous cryptocurrency wallet that holds $2 billion worth of USD1 received the funds between April 16 and 29, according to data from crypto research firm Arkham. Reuters could not ascertain the owner of this wallet.
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, who was incarcerated in the United States last year after pleading guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering, met Zach Witkoff and two other World Liberty co-founders in Abu Dhabi, according to a photo posted on social media site X on Sunday.
"It was great to see our friends," in Abu Dhabi, posted Zhao in response to the photo, tagging Witkoff.
Zhao, who in 2023 stepped down from his role at Binance as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. over the illicit finance charges, remains a major shareholder of Binance.
TRON INTEGRATION
Separately, Zach Witkoff announced that USD1 would be integrated into Tron, the blockchain of Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun.
Sun is the biggest known investor in World Liberty and an adviser to the venture, according to his social media posts, having poured at least $75 million into the project.
Sun was fighting a U.S. securities fraud lawsuit at the time of his first investment in World Liberty. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February paused its case against him, citing public interest.
Sun moderated the panel on which Witkoff spoke on Thursday, with Trump's son Eric Trump also on stage.
The U.S. president, who campaigned on promises to be a "crypto president," has pledged to overhaul federal rules on crypto.
Trump handed over management of his assets to his children before returning to the White House and he will have no role in day-to-day decision-making, his company has said.
