Donald Trump Faces Suit Over $2B USD1 Deal, but Circle Disclaims Involvement

A lawsuit against Donald Trump over UAE crypto deals challenges a $2 billion Binance investment settled in World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin and a $500 million agreement to buy a 49% stake in the company. Circle shareholder J. Benjamin Greenberg filed the civil complaint in Washington federal court on October 22, 2026, alleging the arrangements delivered unconstitutional foreign benefits to the president.

Greenberg seeks an accounting of foreign-government payments, restrictions on further payments without congressional consent and the return of profits deemed unlawful. He brought the case derivatively on Circle’s behalf, but Circle says it did not authorize or participate in the filing. World Liberty and the White House reject the allegations.

A Lawsuit Against Donald Trump Over UAE Crypto Deals Built on Two Agreements

Greenberg filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, naming Trump, World Liberty Financial and other defendants. The civil complaint alleges violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, the constitutional restriction on federal officeholders accepting foreign-state benefits without congressional consent.

His case combines that constitutional allegation with a claim of harm to Circle, a competing stablecoin issuer in which he owns shares. Greenberg alleges that foreign-linked business flowed to World Liberty at Circle’s expense, damaging the company and its shareholders.

The first challenged arrangement was an agreement by an entity backed by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan to pay $500 million for 49% of World Liberty, reached before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. Greenberg alleges Trump subsequently received more than $75.5 million from the transaction after taking office. The second involved an Abu Dhabi investment fund chaired by Tahnoon; it invested $2 billion in Binance and used USD1 to settle the payment, which the complaint characterizes as a way to inflate the value of Trump’s crypto interests.

The equity agreement came shortly before Trump returned to the presidency; the alleged personal receipts followed his assumption of office. That sequence is central to Greenberg’s contention that the arrangement benefited a sitting federal officeholder, and the complaint also points to administration decisions in 2025 and August 2026 as supporting context.

Chasing Trump’s Proceeds While Circle Disowns the Suit

Greenberg is a former Circle software engineer who received company equity as part of his compensation. He invokes his position as a shareholder to bring claims on the company’s behalf, alleging that the challenged arrangements diverted business to World Liberty.

Circle has explicitly distanced itself from his action. A spokesperson said the company “did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing,” according to Quartz — a distinction that matters because Greenberg asserts Circle’s interests while the company disclaims involvement in launching the case.

Tahnoon is the UAE’s national security adviser and the connection between the two challenged arrangements: he backed the entity that agreed to purchase the World Liberty stake and chairs the Abu Dhabi investment fund involved in the Binance investment. Greenberg relies on those links in alleging that Trump received benefits associated with a foreign state through his family’s crypto business.

The defendants include Trump, World Liberty Financial and U.S. Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who Greenberg alleges helped facilitate the foreign benefits challenged in the complaint. The filing also names WLF Holdco, Stablecoin Holdco and DT Marks DEFI LLC, the entity through which the Trump family holds and collects World Liberty revenue. The allegations against World Liberty and its holding companies include intentionally disrupting Circle’s business and causing financial damage.

The Deals Behind the Suit — and the Approvals Greenberg Cites

World Liberty said Trump played no role in the transaction involving the 49% stake. Greenberg’s complaint nevertheless focuses on money he allegedly received after entering office, putting the claimed financial benefit at the center of the dispute: the $500 million consideration covered the ownership stake, while the complaint separately identifies more than $75.5 million as Trump’s alleged post-inauguration receipts.

The complaint cites the Commerce Department’s 2025 approval of advanced Nvidia AI chip sales to an Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence company chaired by Tahnoon, and an August 2026 decision by a Treasury Department bureau granting conditional approval to a World Liberty trust bank co-owned by the Trump family and the UAE government. The bank proposal extends the complaint’s focus beyond the original equity agreement and the Binance settlement into a related financial business. The White House maintains that Trump acts in the public interest and denies conflicts involving his assets.

USD1 Is the Payment Instrument, and That Is the Point

Circle issues USDC and EURC, while World Liberty’s USD1 was the payment instrument used in the challenged Binance investment. Greenberg contends that directing business through the president’s family-backed competitor deprived Circle of business and harmed the value of shareholders’ interests — giving the lawsuit a corporate competition dimension alongside its constitutional argument.

Binance was the investment recipient; USD1 was the settlement instrument. Greenberg alleges that using the stablecoin increased the value of Trump’s crypto interests, and the complaint calls the arrangement a “scheme” to inflate those interests. Its theory connects the choice of payment instrument to an alleged benefit for the president, rather than relying only on the fund’s decision to invest in the exchange.

The Foreign Emoluments Clause restricts federal officeholders from accepting payments or other benefits from foreign states without congressional consent. Greenberg seeks to apply it to the alleged post-inauguration equity proceeds and the financial benefit he attributes to the USD1 settlement, and he wants Trump ordered to stop accepting foreign payments without congressional consent — seeking both a judgment about past transactions and limits on similar arrangements while Trump holds office.

$500 Million and $2 Billion Grew Into $2.5 Billion — the $75.5 Million Is the Claim

The $500 million figure is the agreed consideration for a 49% World Liberty ownership stake; the $2 billion figure is the Binance investment paid using USD1, for $2.5 billion in combined transaction value. Within those arrangements, the complaint identifies more than $75.5 million as the amount Trump allegedly received after taking office from the equity transaction — the specific proceeds figure underlying this part of Greenberg’s constitutional claim.

Greenberg seeks the return of profits that the court determines were unlawful, along with an accounting of foreign-government payments. The accounting request addresses how much Trump and his businesses received and would give the court a financial record against which to assess the requested relief. The claim concerning USD1 centers on the alleged increase in the value of Trump’s crypto interests, so the requested financial accounting and disclosures are significant to tracing the benefits Greenberg attributes to the stablecoin settlement as well as the ownership sale.

“More Like a Partisan Press Release Than a Lawsuit”

World Liberty counsel Bill Burck characterized the filing as “more like a partisan press release than a lawsuit.” Company spokesperson David Wachsman separately called the claims “without merit” and said World Liberty welcomed addressing them before a judge. Those responses reject Greenberg’s characterization of the transactions and of the company’s role in harming Circle, and World Liberty’s position also includes its earlier statement that Trump did not participate in the equity transaction.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly called the action frivolous and said there were no conflicts of interest. Spokesperson Lauren Bis likewise denied conflicts and said Trump’s assets are held in a trust. Greenberg’s attorney, Matt Pelikan of Evergreen Legal, framed the requested recovery as an effort to make Trump return unlawful profits to American taxpayers; Greenberg argues that the president enriched himself, his family and his business at Circle’s expense.

The competing positions leave the court with a civil dispute over the alleged benefits, their connection to foreign-state interests and the harm asserted on Circle’s behalf, with the plaintiff’s requests spanning declarations, financial disclosures, restrictions and repayment.

The Orders Greenberg Wants the Court to Issue

Greenberg asks the court to declare that Trump’s profits from the challenged arrangements violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause. He also seeks an accounting of payments that Trump and his businesses received from foreign governments, as detailed in Spectrum News’ coverage of the filing. The accounting would address the financial flows underlying his allegations, reaching the president’s businesses as well as Trump personally and reflecting the complaint’s focus on benefits moving through World Liberty and related corporate entities.

The plaintiff wants disclosure of other foreign cryptocurrency-related emoluments Trump received while in office, and an order stopping the acceptance of foreign payments without congressional consent — making future foreign-linked arrangements a consequential part of the case for World Liberty’s business and extending the requested relief beyond the two transactions that prompted the complaint.

Greenberg asks for the return of profits determined to be unlawful, with Pelikan describing American taxpayers as the intended beneficiaries; any recovery would depend on the court granting the requested relief and determining which gains fall within it. The financial accounting, additional disclosures and repayment request work together: Greenberg wants the challenged benefits identified, assessed under the constitutional restriction and returned if ruled unlawful.

?FAQ

01When did J. Benjamin Greenberg work at Circle?

Greenberg worked at Circle from January 2016 through September 2018. His compensation included equity, providing the shareholder connection he invokes in bringing the derivative complaint.

02Which law firm represents Greenberg in the lawsuit?

Matt Pelikan of Evergreen Legal represents Greenberg. Pelikan has described the action as seeking to stop the alleged misconduct and recover unlawful profits for American taxpayers.

03What role does DT Marks DEFI LLC play in the Trump family’s World Liberty revenue?

DT Marks DEFI LLC holds and collects World Liberty revenue for the Trump family. The complaint names the entity alongside World Liberty and its holding companies as part of the challenged financial arrangements.

04How does Sheikh Tahnoon connect the two challenged transactions?

Tahnoon is the UAE’s national security adviser. He backed the entity that agreed to buy 49% of World Liberty and chairs the Abu Dhabi investment fund that made the $2 billion Binance investment settled in USD1.

05Which institutions are involved in the trust-bank decision cited by Greenberg?

A Treasury Department bureau gave conditional approval in August 2026 to the World Liberty trust-bank proposal. The proposed bank is described as co-owned by the Trump family and the UAE government.

06How is the AI company in the complaint connected to the UAE transactions?

The Abu Dhabi AI company is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon, who also connects the two challenged crypto arrangements. Greenberg cites Commerce Department approval of advanced Nvidia chip sales to that company in 2025 as part of his argument about administration decisions.

07What explanation did the White House give about Trump’s assets?

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the president’s assets are held in a trust. She also maintained that Trump acts in the American public’s best interests and denied conflicts of interest.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.