What specific transactions tied to World Liberty Financial and foreign investors occurred during Trump’s presidency and what are the documented timelines?
Executive summary
World Liberty Financial (WLF), launched in 2024 as a Trump-family–linked DeFi project, became the center of multiple large transactions with foreign investors during President Trump’s second-term period; the most consequential, according to multiple outlets, was an Abu Dhabi–backed $500 million purchase of a 49% stake completed just before Mr. Trump’s January 2025 inauguration, and a series of token sales and related moves that unfolded through 2025 and into 2026 [1] [2] [3]. Congress and news organizations have traced a web of token offerings, private placements, and cross-border investments tied to WLF that coincide with policy events and a presidential pardon that critics say warrants scrutiny, while the White House disputes any improper linkage [4] [5] [6] [7].
1. Founding and early token sales (late 2024 → mid‑2025): creation then two distinct token offerings
WLF was launched in the fall of 2024 as a DeFi platform tied to the Trump family, rolling out its WLFI token and USD1 stablecoin late that year; initial private sales reported by an SEC filing showed $2.7 million sold to 348 accredited investors with an original plan to cap offerings at $30 million, and by July 2025 a supplemental SEC filing disclosed an additional $52.1 million in private token sales that resulted in roughly $50.7 million being distributed to founders and insiders [1] [4].
2. The UAE-backed $500 million transaction and timing (agreement signed days before inauguration, payments in early 2025)
Reporting by the Wall Street Journal and follow-ups in The Guardian and Fortune say a consortium tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan engineered a deal to acquire 49% of WLF, with documents indicating the agreement was signed four days before President Trump’s January 2025 inauguration and included an upfront payment structure—reportedly $250 million up front, with about $187 million flowing to Trump‑controlled entities and at least $31 million to entities tied to co‑founder Steve Witkoff [2] [3] [5] [1]. The Guardian and Fortune note that the backing traced to Tahnoon‑linked vehicles and people connected to Abu Dhabi’s G42 network [3] [1].
3. Subsequent 2025 transactions tied to WLF stablecoin and Binance/MGX (March 2025 and thereafter)
Documents and congressional letters point to a March 2025 transaction in which MGX—the Abu Dhabi‑linked investor network—used WLF’s USD1 stablecoin to facilitate a roughly $2 billion investment into Binance, a move contemporaneous with Sheikh Tahnoon’s Washington visit and later cited by members of Congress as part of an inquiry into potential national‑security and conflict‑of‑interest implications [5] [8]. The timeline in reporting connects that March 2025 use of USD1 with other UAE‑linked investments in and around WLF’s operations [5].
4. Justin Sun and other foreign investors (early 2025) and regulatory developments
Reporting indicates other foreign figures invested in or advised WLF in early 2025: Chinese‑born entrepreneur Justin Sun is named as having invested $30 million “shortly after Trump took office in 2025” and being appointed an advisor, with contemporaneous reporting that the SEC stepped back from an investigation into Sun’s companies around that time, though public documents on the SEC’s internal actions are limited in the cited accounts [9].
5. The presidential pardon, policy approvals, and congressional scrutiny (Oct 2025 → 2026 probe)
Observers and critics link a broader sequence in 2025—most visibly the presidential pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in October 2025 and approvals allowing UAE‑linked entities access to scarce AI chips—to the timing of WLF transactions and UAE investment, prompting House inquiries and requests for documents; Representative Ro Khanna’s letter and subsequent congressional requests sought details by March 1, 2026 on the $500 million deal, token flows, and related transactions [6] [5] [8]. News accounts emphasize that the White House and WLF have denied an improper quid pro quo, and President Trump has said he was unaware of the $500 million transaction and that his children run the businesses [7] [2].
6. What is documented — and what remains unclear
What is supported across multiple outlets is the basic chronology: WLF’s formation in late 2024, initial token sales into 2025 (including a larger private placement mid‑2025), a reported 49% purchase by an Abu Dhabi‑linked entity in a deal signed days before the January 2025 inauguration with sizable upfront payments, a March 2025 USD1‑facilitated $2 billion movement tied to Binance/MGX, and later developments including a high‑profile pardon and congressional inquiries through early 2026 [1] [4] [2] [5] [6]. What remains contested or not yet fully documented in public reporting are granular legal agreements, escrow and wire‑transfer records in full, internal White House communications proving or disproving policy linkage, and definitive public confirmation of all investor identities beyond the names and entities reported [3] [8].