World Liberty Financial (WLFI) Faces Political Firestorm Over UAE Investment Deal
A major foreign investment from UAE-backed Aryam Investment triggered allegations of corruption and stalled crypto legislation on February 4, 2026. The reported $500 million investment for a 49% stake in WLFI was finalized just days before President Trump's inauguration.
Political Controversy Escalates
Senator Chris Murphy labeled the deal "brazen, open corruption," alleging $187 million went to Trump-linked entities. The buyers — lieutenants of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a United Arab Emirates royal, the country's national security adviser and manager of its largest wealth fund — paid up front, with $187 million going to Trump family entities and at least $31 million going to Witkoff family entities.
The controversy has entangled the Clarity Act, a key crypto market structure bill, delaying its passage as Democrats demand anti-corruption provisions.
Ecosystem Expansion Continues
Despite the political turmoil, World Liberty Financial has advanced its product roadmap. The project's $3.4B USD1 stablecoin now powers a new DeFi borrowing and lending market as of February 3, 2026. WLFI is actively deploying its RWA platform featuring tokenized commodities (oil, gas, timber) and debt instruments, all collateralized by $USD1, with institutional adoption beginning in January 2026.
Market Performance
World Liberty Financial is down 4.78% in the last 24 hours, with a live market cap of $3,564,357,699 USD and a current CoinMarketCap ranking of #28.
Banking License Application
In January 2026, World Liberty Trust, a trust company owned by WLF and with Zach Witkoff as its president and chairman, applied for a national banking license in the U.S.
Disclosure Concerns
WLF did not disclose that Tahnoun had purchased the 49% share, and also did not disclose to the public that two Tahnoun affiliates, Martin Edelman (general counsel of Tahnoun's company G42) and Peng Xiao (CEO of G42), had been put on the board of WLF.