Abu Dhabi sheikh takes 49% stake in Trump family crypto bank

Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan and co-investors control 49% of WLTC Holdings, parent of the Trump family's planned crypto bank, through StringZ Holding RSC, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. A Trump family-affiliated entity owns another 38% of the holding company.

"World Liberty is a private American financial technology company, not a political organization," spokesman David Wachsman said. "No one at World Liberty works for the U.S. government and there are no conflicts of interest." He added that the company neither seeks nor receives special treatment.

The disclosure extends an established financial relationship between Tahnoon and the Trump family. The sheikh and other investors previously invested $500 million in World Liberty Financial in January 2025, the month Trump began his second term, receiving a 49% stake in the cryptocurrency company. That deal directed $263 million to Trump family entities, according to Trump's 2025 annual financial disclosure.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency this month granted World Liberty preliminary conditional approval to establish a federally chartered national trust bank. The bank would issue, redeem, and safeguard USD1, World Liberty's dollar-backed stablecoin with roughly $4 billion in market value backed by U.S. Treasurys and cash equivalents. The venture must satisfy additional conditions before opening.

The arrangement has drawn scrutiny because Tahnoon is a foreign government official and the Trump administration has negotiated with the UAE over access to advanced U.S. artificial-intelligence chips. The administration approved chip sales to G42, a UAE state-backed AI company controlled by Tahnoon, and last month eased limits on how many chips it could purchase. Trump's businesses generated at least $59.5 million in foreign licensing revenue during the first year of his second term, CNBC previously reported, with Gulf developers among the largest payers.

SEC stays silent on Trump-linked crypto deals

The SEC has not opened an investigation into AI Financial Corporation, formerly Alt5 Sigma, the public company that cut a 2025 deal with World Liberty, according to a Freedom of Information Act response obtained by POGO Investigates. AI Financial agreed to buy $717 million worth of World Liberty cryptocurrency and received 100 million shares in exchange for $750 million worth of tokens. The company later noted "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern.

Former senior SEC trial counsel Howard A. Fischer told POGO Investigates the situation looked like "the paradigmatic securities fraud case." A shareholder lawsuit alleging "illegality," "unjust enrichment," and "avarice" was later withdrawn with prejudice.

The perceived conflicts extend beyond the UAE deal. Justin Sun, who invested $45 million in WLFI, is in a legal dispute with World Liberty over frozen tokens. Binance holds $2 billion worth of USD1 stablecoin, generating tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue for the project. SEC enforcement chief Margaret Ryan resigned earlier this year after clashing with agency leadership over enforcement strategy, including matters touching Trump and his family.

Investor losses shadow Trump crypto empire

Reuters reported that the more than $2 billion the Trump family had made via various crypto projects was roughly equal to the losses suffered by investors in those same projects. WLFI, World Liberty's governance token, traded at $0.05975 as of press time, up 2.38 percent on the day.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment but has previously said Trump "only acts in the best interest of the American public" and denied that he has conflicts of interest.

The ownership structure raises questions about how the OCC will evaluate the bank's governance given Tahnoon's dual role as a foreign government official and major investor. The charter approval process, combined with the broader regulatory vacuum around Trump-linked crypto ventures, will likely remain a focus for lawmakers and ethics watchdogs as World Liberty moves toward launch.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.