CRYPCrypto NO. ---

Trump World Liberty lawsuit cites $500M UAE stake, $2B USD1 deal

The derivative suit targets a reported $500 million purchase of a 49% stake in World Liberty and a $2 billion Binance investment settled in USD1. The White House called it frivolous, and no court has ruled.

By Rowan Ashby Published 23.10.26 06:45 UTC 6 min read

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on February 10, 2025 — Official White House photo by Abe McNatt / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain · Source

Key takeaways

A Circle shareholder, J. Benjamin Greenberg, filed a lawsuit on Thursday, October 22, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against President Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (Greenberg v. Trump, No. 26-cv-03686).
The complaint alleges that two UAE-linked crypto deals, a reported $500 million purchase of a 49% stake in World Liberty and a $2 billion investment in Binance settled in World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin, amount to foreign emoluments barred by the US Constitution.
The White House called the case "frivolous" and said there are no conflicts of interest. World Liberty called the claims meritless, according to reports. Circle said it did not authorize the filing.
No court has ruled on any of the claims. The allegations are unproven.

Trump World Liberty lawsuit: what happened

A Trump World Liberty lawsuit filed in Washington on October 22, 2026, claims money from two UAE-linked crypto deals violates the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause. A Circle shareholder sued Donald Trump, the family's World Liberty Financial and envoy Steve Witkoff. The allegations are unproven. In Argentina, a judge dismissed the LIBRA memecoin case against Javier Milei on Oct. 23.

The plaintiff, J. Benjamin Greenberg, worked at Circle from January 2016 to September 2018 and received Circle equity as compensation, according to Spectrum News. Cointelegraph reported that he says he holds 10,000 Circle shares. He filed the case as a derivative action on Circle's behalf, arguing that the deals pulled business away from Circle's USDC stablecoin, which competes directly with World Liberty's USD1.

Besides Trump, World Liberty and Witkoff, the complaint names affiliated companies, including WLF Holdco, Stablecoin Holdco and DT Marks DEFI LLC. Spectrum News reported that DT Marks DEFI is the entity the Trump family uses to hold and collect World Liberty revenue. Witkoff's son, Zach Witkoff, is a World Liberty co-founder, according to Cointelegraph.

The two deals at the center of the case

Deal	Reported amount	UAE-linked party	What the complaint alleges
Purchase of a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial	$500 million	Investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser	Trump received financial benefits from the sale after taking office; Spectrum News reports the complaint puts this at more than $75.5 million
Investment in Binance paid in USD1 stablecoin	$2 billion	MGX, an Abu Dhabi fund chaired by Tahnoon	Using USD1 for the deal benefited World Liberty and, through it, the Trump family

Sources: Spectrum News, Cointelegraph and Blockonomi reporting on the complaint, October 22, 2026. The stake sale was first reported by The Wall Street Journal in February 2026, according to Cointelegraph. MGX announced the USD1-funded Binance investment in May 2025.

Spectrum News reported that the complaint also points to other government actions it says benefited the Trump family. These include a 2025 Commerce Department approval of Nvidia AI chip sales to an Abu Dhabi company chaired by Tahnoon and an August 2026 conditional approval by a Treasury bureau for a World Liberty trust bank. Blockonomi reported that the filing also cites Trump's pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. These are allegations in a court filing, not findings.

What the plaintiff is asking for

According to Spectrum News, Cointelegraph and Blockonomi, Greenberg is asking the court for:

a declaration that Trump's profits from the deals violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause;
an accounting of payments that Trump and his businesses received from foreign states, plus disclosure of any other foreign crypto payments received while in office;
disgorgement of gains the court finds unlawful;
an order barring Trump and Witkoff from taking similar foreign payments without the consent of Congress;
compensatory and punitive damages.

How the White House, World Liberty and Circle responded

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CNBC the case was "yet another frivolous lawsuit" and said there were "no conflicts of interest," according to Cointelegraph, which added the statement in an update at 22:27 UTC on October 22. Spectrum News quoted White House spokesperson Lauren Bis: "President Trump's assets are in a trust. There are no conflicts of interest."

World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman called the claims meritless and said the company would respond in court, Blockonomi reported. Cointelegraph said World Liberty had not responded to its own request for comment.

Circle distanced itself from the case. A spokesperson said the company "did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing," according to Cointelegraph. A representative for Witkoff had not responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting, according to Blockonomi.

What we know and what we don't know yet

What we know: the case has been filed in federal court in Washington, the defendants are named, and the White House and World Liberty have rejected the claims. The two deals themselves had already been reported publicly and drew criticism from Democratic senators in 2025.

What we don't know yet: which judge will hear the case, when the defendants must formally answer, and whether the court will accept that a Circle shareholder has standing to sue over the Emoluments Clause. Several figures in the complaint, including the $75.5 million in alleged benefits, come from the plaintiff and have not been tested in court.

Background: the Foreign Emoluments Clause

Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution bars anyone holding a federal office of profit or trust from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from a foreign state without the consent of Congress. During Trump's first term, several emoluments lawsuits were brought over foreign government spending at Trump hotels. Those cases spent years on procedural questions, especially standing, and ended without a final ruling on the merits after Trump left office in 2021.

World Liberty Financial launched in 2024 and issues the USD1 dollar stablecoin. Its ties to the Trump family and to foreign investors have been a recurring target for critics. In May 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley asked the company for records about the $2 billion MGX deal. Bullquill has covered the new US stablecoin rules in its report on the OCC's final GENIUS Act rule and Witkoff's diplomatic role in his talks with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine.

What it means

For now, the lawsuit is a set of allegations, not a ruling. Its first big test will likely be standing: earlier emoluments cases showed that courts look hard at whether a private plaintiff has suffered a concrete injury. Greenberg's argument that Circle lost business to USD1 is his way of showing that injury.

For the crypto market, the case puts the overlap between the president's family businesses and the stablecoin industry back in the spotlight. That matters as regulators finish rules under the GENIUS Act. Readers following the sector can track daily moves in our crypto daily brief and wider stablecoin developments, such as the Shinhan–SBI yen stablecoin project. Trump faces other pending lawsuits, including his case against the BBC.

Frequently asked questions

Who sued Trump over World Liberty Financial?

J. Benjamin Greenberg, a Circle shareholder and former Circle employee, filed a derivative lawsuit on October 22, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia (Greenberg v. Trump, No. 26-cv-03686). Circle said it did not authorize the filing.

What does the World Liberty lawsuit allege?

It alleges that a reported $500 million purchase of a 49% stake in World Liberty by a vehicle backed by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and a $2 billion Binance investment by Abu Dhabi fund MGX paid in USD1, are foreign emoluments that Trump accepted without the consent of Congress.

What is the Foreign Emoluments Clause?

Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution bars federal officeholders from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from a foreign state without the consent of Congress.

How did the White House respond to the lawsuit?

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly called it "yet another frivolous lawsuit" and said there were no conflicts of interest. World Liberty called the claims meritless, according to reports.