A report has revealed a previously undisclosed crypto deal between an Abu Dhabi royal and a Trump-linked firm. Four days before US President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025, lieutenants to the Abu Dhabi royal “spy sheikh” signed a deal with the American president’s family to purchase a 49 per cent stake in their growing cryptocurrency venture.
As per the deal worth half a billion dollars, with World Liberty Financial, the buyers would pay half upfront, leading $187 million to Trump family entities, and the agreement was signed by the president’s son, Eric Trump, as revealed by The Wall Street Journal report.
The Abu Dhabi royal behind the deal is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has been demanding access from the US to protected AI chips. Tahnoon, also known as the “spy sheikh”, is the brother of the president of the United Arab Emirates. He serves as the UAE government’s national security adviser, as well as the head of the country’s largest wealth fund.
He is responsible for overseeing a more than $1.3 trillion empire that is funded by his personal wealth and government funds. Tahnoon is one of the most powerful single investors in the world.
Trump’s re-entry to the White House made way for “Spy Sheikh” to get the AI hardware that he was not able to execute during the Joe Biden administration.
Tahnoon held several meetings with Trump and US envoy Steve Witkoff, including a visit to the White House. During that visit, he said he was keen to work with Washington on AI and other areas, the report claimed.
Two months after the March meeting, the administration agreed to give the small Gulf state access to about 500,000 advanced AI chips each year. This amount would be enough to build one of the world’s largest AI data centre networks.
Of the first $250 million payment from the Tahnoon-backed firm called Aryam Investment 1, $187 million went to Trump family-linked companies DT Marks DEFI LLC and DT Marks SC LLC. Along with the payment to the Witkoff family-linked entities, another $31 million was sent to a company connected to co-founders Zak Folkman and Chase Herro.
“President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. She added that Trump’s assets are held in a trust managed by his children and said there are “no conflicts of interest”. Kelly also said Witkoff is working to “advance President Trump’s goals of peace around the world”.
On January 16, 2025, representatives of Aryam signed the $500 million agreement with Trump and Witkoff’s company, World Liberty.
During Trump’s visit to Abu Dhabi, he announced that the two countries had reached a “very big contract” for the UAE to purchase US-made AI chips. After further talks, the Trump administration later approved the sale of 35,000 chips to G42, which was fewer than the UAE had wanted.
The agreement would make Aryam the biggest shareholder in World Liberty and its only known investor outside the founders.