Trump, World Liberty Financial, and Steve Witkoff face legal action from Circle investor over cryptocurrency transactions
Circle investor has filed legal proceedings claiming Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, and World Liberty Financial damaged the stablecoin company through corrupt practices related to USD1.
An investor in Circle Internet Financial, the firm responsible for issuing the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, has initiated legal proceedings targeting US President Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial—his family's cryptocurrency enterprise—associated entities, and Steve Witkoff, who serves as US Special Envoy to the Middle East, concerning a $2 billion transaction between a foreign governmental body and Binance.
According to a Thursday submission to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, J. Benjamin Greenberg, who holds shares in Circle, claims that Trump, Witkoff, and World Liberty have inflicted damage on Circle through establishing a channel enabling foreign governments to transfer funds via USD1, the stablecoin associated with the Trump family's cryptocurrency enterprise. Greenberg contends that this "brazen corruption" renders Circle "unable to compete" against USD1 in the stablecoin marketplace with its USDC product.
The crux of the allegations made by the Circle investor centers on MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based entity with connections to United Arab Emirates royalty, which deployed $2 billion into Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, utilizing the USD1 stablecoin during 2025. According to The Wall Street Journal's February reporting, a separate investment entity with backing from Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan entered into an agreement to acquire a 49% ownership position in World Liberty for $500 million.
"By accepting hundreds of millions of dollars from a foreign government, the President and his companies have diverted business from [Circle]," Greenberg's allegations state, further adding:
"Plaintiff asks this Court to declare the President's corrupt acts a violation of the Constitution, to enjoin the brazen corruption alleged below, to order an accounting of the billions in payments from foreign states to the President and his businesses, to require the companies holding them to disgorge the emoluments the President accepted through them, and for compensatory and punitive damages."
As justification for bringing the lawsuit, Greenberg disclosed his ownership of 10,000 ordinary shares of Circle. His petition to the court seeks a declaration that Trump's actions in these cryptocurrency transactions constitute a breach of the Foreign Emoluments Clause found in the US Constitution, and requests injunctions that would bar both the president and Witkoff from engaging in comparable financial arrangements without obtaining Congress' consent.
The lawsuit names Witkoff, whose son Zach Witkoff serves as a co-founder of World Liberty. The crypto venture also counts Trump and his three sons among its co-founders.
When contacted by Cointelegraph, a representative from Circle stated that the company "did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing," and refused to provide commentary on litigation that remains pending. Representatives from both World Liberty and the White House failed to provide responses when asked to comment on the legal action.
Democrats use 'corruption' messaging as midterm elections approach
Multiple cryptocurrency ventures are connected to the US president and his family members, which Trump disclosed generated $1.4 billion in income for him during 2025, though these same ventures reportedly resulted in approximately $4.7 billion in losses for investors, based on findings published by Public Citizen, a nonprofit organization focused on consumer advocacy. These cryptocurrency projects represent merely a portion of the numerous controversial transactions facing examination, which also include Trump's acceptance of an aircraft from Qatar's government.
As the 2026 midterm elections draw near—with fewer than two weeks remaining and early voting already underway across several US states—Democratic candidates seeking reelection are leveraging Trump's cryptocurrency transactions as a divisive issue designed to persuade voters to back members of their party. In a campaign advertisement released last week, Senator Mark Warner emphasized that the president earned "more than $600 million alone from the crypto memecoin."