Senate Grills Trump Crypto Deal with UAE Over $500M Stake

Five Senate Democrats have requested hearings into a reported $500 million investment by UAE-linked investors in World Liberty Financial, a crypto company tied to President Donald Trump's family. The investment was made on January 16, 2025, four days before Trump's second inauguration.

The senators' letter, signed by Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin, and Ron Wyden, described the arrangement as unprecedented in American politics. They tie the investment to subsequent U.S. policy decisions toward the UAE, including a $1.4 billion arms sale and authorization of Nvidia chip exports to a UAE AI company.

The senators' letter links the investment to a series of U.S. policy decisions that benefited the UAE, including the rescission of Biden-era chip export restrictions and the authorization of G42, a UAE AI company chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon, to receive 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips in a deal worth more than $1 billion.

U.S. intelligence officials reportedly found that G42 had provided American technology used to enhance China's missile capabilities, a concern raised by the senators as an additional reason for congressional scrutiny.