UFC Fighter Bonuses to Be Distributed in USD1 Stablecoin from Trump Family's Crypto Venture
As part of the White House's semiquincentennial celebration, the UFC announced it will distribute fighter bonuses in USD1, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and launched by the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture.
Fighters competing in Sunday's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event held on the White House lawn will receive bonus payments denominated in stablecoins created by World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture.
World Liberty confirmed on Monday that bonuses totaling up to $250,000 would be distributed by UFC using USD1, the company's stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. The UFC had made a comparable statement prior to the event taking place.
USD1's value climbed above the $1 mark on June 12 and sustained that level, based on the most recent data from CoinMarketCap. Over the preceding 24-hour period, trading volume surged by more than 93%, reaching $2.38 billion.
The "UFC Freedom 250" event, which drew sharp criticism from numerous members of Congress due to its estimated $60 million cost, took place on the White House's south lawn as one of the events organized for the nation's semiquincentennial anniversary. Among the sponsors were World Liberty, Polymarket—a prediction markets platform—and Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange that announced it would provide $1 million in fighter bonuses through its Cronos (CRO) token.
World Liberty, which was established in 2024 by Trump family members along with others who have since been connected to his administration, has become a focal point of controversy surrounding allegations of corruption directed at the president. A UAE-based company announced in May 2025 its intention to utilize the USD1 stablecoin for settling a $2 billion investment in Binance. Additionally, World Liberty has a pending application with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seeking approval for a national trust charter.
According to Trump's financial disclosures submitted in January 2025, his stake in World Liberty was valued at over $50 million. In the previous year, he enacted the GENIUS Act into law, which created a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the US, despite facing similar criticism from numerous Democratic lawmakers regarding possible conflicts of interest.
"There seems to be no limit to Donald Trump's self-dealing. Trump never misses an opportunity to use the power of the presidency to make himself and his family even richer."
Jaelin O'Halloran, spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee
Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, informed Cointelegraph that "there are no conflicts of interest," explaining that Trump's assets "are in a trust managed by his children."
World Liberty faces lawsuit from Tron founder
Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, who is a Trump supporter and among the largest holders of the president's TRUMP memecoin, initiated legal action against World Liberty in April, claiming the company froze his tokens and threatened to destroy them "without any proper justification." Despite the lawsuit, Sun stated he would maintain his support for Trump and the administration's cryptocurrency policies, although World Liberty filed a countersuit against the Tron founder several weeks afterward.