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A UAE-backed investment vehicle reportedly bought a 49% stake in the Trump-linked crypto startup World Liberty Financial for $500M just before Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
A year on from this investment, we take a look at what effect it has had on World Liberty Financial and the broader Trump-linked crypto ecosystem.
Senior UAE royal secretly purchased 49% stake in Trump’s World Liberty Financial for $500m pic.twitter.com/xi8ByzJcyf
— db (@tier10k) February 1, 2026
It also comes at a time when global funds are pushing deeper into DeFi and the broader crypto space, betting that continued friendlier US policy will unlock more growth.
The crypto market has taken a battering over this weekend, with over $300Bn wiped off the total market cap as the Bitcoin
price crashed below $80,000 and is currently trading at $78,250.
(SOURCE: CoinGlass)
What is the Significance of Abu Dhabi’s $500M Investment into Trump-Backed World Liberty Financial?
The Wall Street Journal reports that Aryam Investment 1, an Abu Dhabi vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, agreed to buy a 49% stake in the company just days before Donald began his second term as US President.
Half the money arrived upfront. About $187M flowed to Trump family-controlled entities, with more paid to groups tied to the project’s founders. Donald’s son, Eric Trump, reportedly signed the agreement.
The deal with World Liberty Financial, which hasn’t previously been reported, was signed by Eric Trump, the president’s son. At least $31M was also slated to flow to entities affiliated with Steve Witkoff’s family, a World Liberty co-founder who, weeks earlier, had been named US envoy to the Middle East, the WSJ said.
Sheikh Tahnoon’s involvement is significant as the Abu Dhabi royal has reportedly been pushing the US for access to tightly guarded artificial intelligence chips. Tahnoon is the brother of the United Arab Emirates’ president, the government’s national security adviser, and the leader of the oil-rich country’s largest wealth fund.
He oversees an empire valued at more than $1.3 trillion, funded by his personal fortune and state money, spanning everything from fish farms to AI to surveillance, making him one of the most powerful single investors in the world.
The deal marked something unprecedented in American politics: a foreign government official taking a major ownership stake in a company linked to the incoming US President.
So… a bribe?
Trump got $500 Million and U.A.E. got “tightly guarded” A.I. chips. How is this not a bribe, exactly? https://t.co/eedXsUQ19Z pic.twitter.com/ZS9Pt9Ippn
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 1, 2026
DISCOVER: The 12+ Hottest Crypto Presales to Buy Right Now
Why Does Big UAE Money Matter Here?
This is not retail speculation. This is state-linked capital stepping into crypto on a large scale. For everyday investors, that signals confidence that crypto will sit closer to the financial mainstream under Trump.
It also fits a bigger pattern. The UAE has pushed hard into digital assets, from exchanges to stablecoins. Recent moves in the UAE’s crypto expansion show the country wants to influence where finance and tech intersect.
Weeks before the deal surfaced, another Tahnoon-led firm used World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to settle a $2Bn investment into Binance. That connects Trump Crypto, the world’s leading crypto exchange, with sovereign capital in a single deal.
Trump Crypto Projects are Currently in the News for All the Wrong Reasons
(SOURCE: CoinGecko)
This story, reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes during a period of extreme volatility in the crypto market, especially for projects associated with the President.
The Official Trump memecoin is down over -94% from its all-time high and is currently trading at just $4.15, after briefly trading above $40 in January 2025.
Then there is the President’s wife, Melania, and her official memecoin. MELANIA is down -99% from its January 2025 high of more than $7 and is trading today for just $0.12.
Finally, the native token for Trump’s DeFi platform, World Liberty Financial, is down -63% from its September 2025 high. WLFI is trading for $0.125, down -17% on the day, and its market cap has fallen to $3.2Bn from $6.6Bn just six months ago.
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