One of the shareholders of one of the world's largest digital asset companies has sued U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing him of potential cryptocurrency corruption.
This lawsuit was filed on Thursday by J. Benjamin Greenberg, a shareholder and former employee of Circle. The complaint alleges that a member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates agreed to invest $500 million in a World Liberty Financial business supported by Trump, and that this action directly violates the constitution.
Circle is the financial technology company behind the stablecoin USDC. Despite legislators blocking a milestone digital asset legislation last month, which President Trump had supported, U.S. regulators are still rapidly advancing rules in favor of cryptocurrencies.
Some members of parliament did not support this draft bill named "Clarity Act", as they claimed that the Trump family had illegally profited from cryptocurrency projects.
The complaint states: "The corruption involved is not subtle, nor was it concealed. Since returning to the White House, President Donald J. Trump and his family have established a cryptocurrency business and have invited foreign governments to transfer funds to him by making payments to that business. Foreign funds have already responded."
The complaint further alleges that an investment fund established by the Abu Dhabi government also provided $2 billion to the president through the USD1 stablecoin product of World Liberty Financial.
World Liberty Financial is a decentralized finance project, co-founded by the president and his son.
President Trump has no longer been involved in this project since he took office in 2025.
The lawsuit on Thursday also claimed that the president allegedly provided advanced artificial intelligence chips to the UAE leadership in exchange for this crypto investment, and pardoned a convicted felon. The complaint cited a report by The Wall Street Journal in February of this year, which disclosed this transaction.
The complaint further states: "Although the president uses the language of new technologies—tokens and stablecoins, holding companies, and reserve earnings—to package his corrupt arrangements, such terminology should not obscure their essence: this is the oldest form of public corruption, namely, public officials accepting money from foreign forces."
The complaint alleges that the president profited "corruptly" by $2 billion through these transactions.
President Trump, World Liberty, and the U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs, Steve Witkoff, have all been listed as defendants in this case.
During his campaign, Trump campaigned in support of the crypto industry and received substantial financial support from that sector. However, some members of Congress in Washington have criticized the way the Trump family has profited from digital asset projects.
Trump and the White House have always denied any conflicts of interest. In August, before the voting on the cryptocurrency “Clarity Act”, the president stated that Democrats who criticized his family’s crypto business also made money through stock trading.
