Circle shareholder sues Trump and World Liberty Financial over UAE crypto deals
A Circle shareholder has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial, alleging that more than $2 billion in UAE-linked crypto deals violated the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause and harmed Circle's stablecoin business.
A Circle shareholder has filed a derivative lawsuit against President Donald Trump, his crypto venture World Liberty Financial, and Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, accusing them of violating the U.S. Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause. According to legal filings reported by Unchained, former Circle software engineer J. Benjamin Greenberg filed the action on Circle's behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that foreign-backed deals improperly enriched Trump and created unfair competition against Circle's USDC stablecoin.[1][5][7]
The complaint centers on two transactions linked to UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. On Jan. 16, 2025, Aryam Investment 1 agreed to pay $500 million for a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, channeling $187 million upfront and an estimated $75.5 million after inauguration to Trump family entities. In addition, Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX executed a $2 billion investment in Binance settled with World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin. The suit alleges USD1 competes directly with USDC, estimating that the MGX deal cost Circle roughly $70 million to $82 million annually in lost reserve interest income.[2][6][7]
Greenberg is seeking an order barring Trump from accepting foreign benefits without congressional approval, an accounting of illegal profits to be paid into the U.S. Treasury, and damages from World Liberty Financial. Both the White House and World Liberty dismissed the allegations, with White House spokesperson Anna Kelly labeling the suit frivolous and denying any conflicts of interest. Circle also distanced itself from the litigation, clarifying that it did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the action.[4][5][7]
Key facts
- Former Circle software engineer J. Benjamin Greenberg filed a derivative lawsuit against Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial, and Steve Witkoff in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
- The suit alleges Trump violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause via a $500 million sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty to UAE-linked Aryam Investment 1 and a $2 billion Binance investment settled using USD1.
- The complaint alleges $187 million from the stake sale went upfront to Trump family entities, followed by about $75.5 million after Trump took office.
- The plaintiff estimates the steering of capital to USD1 cost Circle approximately $70 million to $82 million annually in lost reserve income.
- The lawsuit asks the court to declare the payments unconstitutional, order an accounting, direct proceeds to the U.S. Treasury, and award damages.
- Circle stated it did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the lawsuit.
- World Liberty Financial called the claims baseless, while a White House spokesperson described the lawsuit as frivolous and denied any conflicts of interest.
Sources · 7 sources
- CT
Coin TelegraphArticle ·
Circle shareholder sues Trump, World Liberty and Steve Witkoff over crypto deals According to a Circle shareholder, the US president’s “corruption” through USD1 left the company unable to compete with stablecoins, harming USDC.
Open source - SO
SolanaFloor@SolanaFloorPost on X ·
NEWS: A @Circle shareholder has sued @realDonaldTrump in federal court over alleged unconstitutional foreign benefits tied to his crypto ventures. The lawsuit centers on a $2B UAE-backed investment in Binance settled using @worldlibertyfi’s $USD1 stablecoin. The shareholder alleges the deal benefited Trump’s crypto interests and gave USD1 a competitive advantage over Circle’s $USDC.
Open source - TW
The Wolf Of All Streets@scottmelkerPost on X ·
CIRCLE $CRCL SHAREHOLDER SUES PRESIDENT TRUMP AND WORLD LIBERTY FINANCIAL $WLFI, ALLEGING UAE-LINKED CRYPTO DEALS VIOLATED THE FOREIGN EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE THE SUIT TARGETS A $500M WORLD LIBERTY STAKE SALE AND A $2B UAE-LINKED PURCHASE OF ITS USD1 STABLECOIN
Open source - CN
crypto.news@cryptodotnewsPost on X ·
JUST IN: Circle shareholder sues Trump and World Liberty Financial over $2B Binance investment J. Benjamin Greenberg, a Circle shareholder, alleges an Abu Dhabi fund used World Liberty’s $USD1 stablecoin to settle the investment and claims the broader deals improperly benefited Trump; the White House and World Liberty deny the allegations, while Circle says it had no role in the suit.
Open source - WB
Wu Blockchain@WuBlockchainPost on X ·
Circle Shareholder Sues Trump and World Liberty Over UAE-Linked Deals, Alleging Unconstitutional Profits According to Bloomberg, a Circle shareholder has sued President Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial, alleging that Trump violated the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause through two UAE-linked transactions: the $500 million sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty and a $2 billion Binance investment funded using its USD1 stablecoin. The plaintiff claims the deals harmed Circle investors through unfair competition and seeks the return of alleged illegal profits and damages. Circle said it was not involved in the lawsuit, while World Liberty denied the allegations.
Open source - BS
BSCN@BSCNewsPost on X ·
Trump And World LibertyFi Face Fresh Legal Challenge J. Benjamin Greenberg, a Circle shareholder and former software engineer, has sued Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump) and World Liberty Financial (@worldlibertyfi) $WLFI, over a $2 billion investment in Binance (@binance) by an Abu Dhabi fund. The fund used World Liberty’s ethereum:0x8d0d000ee44948fc98c9b98a4fa4921476f08b0d stablecoin to settle the payment, according to the complaint. The suit alleges the wider deals improperly benefited Trump. Circle says it did not initiate, direct or participate in the lawsuit. The White House and World Liberty have rejected the allegations, CNBC reports.
Open source - UN
UnchainedArticle ·
Ex-Circle Engineer Takes Trump to Court Over Emirati Payments to World Liberty Financial A longtime Circle shareholder filed suit against President Donald Trump on Thursday, alleging that two UAE-linked deals with his family’s crypto firm, World Liberty Financial , violated the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause and pulled stablecoin business away from Circle’s USDC. J. Benjamin Greenberg , a software engineer who worked at Circle from 2016 to 2018 and holds 10,000 of its shares, brought the case derivatively, on Circle’s behalf rather than his own, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Circle has reportedly distanced itself from the filing. “Circle did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by CNBC. Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter . The Two Deals The first deal dates to Jan. 16, 2025, four days before the inauguration, when Aryam Investment 1 agreed to pay $500 million for a 49% stake in World Liberty. The complaint links Aryam to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser. It says $187 million of the upfront half went to two Trump family entities and, drawing on the president’s 2025 financial disclosure , alleges about $75.5 million more reached them after he took office. The second involves MGX, an Abu Dhabi investment firm Tahnoon chairs, which completed its $2 billion investment in Binance using USD1, World Liberty’s then-new stablecoin. The Case for Circle The suit argues that USD1 competes head to head with USDC, and that both issuers live off interest on their reserves, which made up about 96% of Circle’s 2025 revenue. “Every dollar of stablecoin steered to the President’s stablecoin, USD1, is a dollar that does not earn reserve income for Circle,” the complaint states. It puts Circle’s lost income at roughly $70 million to $82 million a year on the MGX money. Greenberg asks the court to declare the payments unconstitutional, bar Trump from taking more without congressional consent, order an accounting and send the proceeds to the U.S. Treasury. He also seeks damages from World Liberty. Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, a World Liberty co-founder, and four Trump-linked holding companies are also named. “These claims are without merit and we look forward to resolving them in court,” World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman was quoted as saying by Politico. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly reportedly called it “yet another frivolous lawsuit” and said “there are no conflicts of interest.” Trump’s financial disclosure for 2025 showed about $1.4 billion in crypto earnings, from his memecoin, World Liberty and the venture’s stablecoin business, Unchained reported . The Aryam stake stayed private until the Wall Street Journal reported it in January 2026. Related Listen: Why Did Hunter Biden Launch a Meme Coin? Partly to Troll Trump The post Ex-Circle Engineer Takes Trump to Court Over Emirati Payments to World Liberty Financial appeared first on Unchained .
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