A fund based in the United Arab Emirates, Aqua 1 Foundation, has purchased $100 million worth of digital tokens ($WLFI) issued by World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture owned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s family, becoming one of the project’s largest publicly known investors.
In a statement, Aqua 1 Foundation said the token purchase aims to accelerate the creation of a “blockchain-powered financial ecosystem” centered around stablecoins and tokenized traditional assets.
A World Liberty Financial spokesperson confirmed the investment to Reuters. Although the $WLFI tokens are not currently tradable, they grant holders voting rights on changes to the project’s underlying code. The project team stated that efforts are underway to enable free trading of the tokens in the future.
Dave Lee, founding partner of Aqua 1 Foundation, said the fund and World Liberty will jointly identify and support high-potential blockchain projects. Aqua 1’s investment and compliance teams will assist World Liberty in expanding into South America, Europe, and Asia.
It is worth noting that Aqua 1 Foundation maintains a minimal online presence, with limited activity on social media.
World Liberty also plans to support the launch of a separate Aqua 1 fund focused on accelerating the digital economy transformation in the Middle East through blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies.
Founded two months before the 2024 U.S. presidential election by Trump and his business partners, World Liberty has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Trump family business.
The project has attracted scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers and ethics watchdogs. The Trump Organization has stated that the president’s investments and business interests are held in a trust managed by his children.
World Liberty aims to provide access to financial services via digital tokens without intermediaries such as banks. It has launched a stablecoin called USD1, which gained prominence when an Abu Dhabi investment firm chose it for a $2 billion investment in the major crypto exchange Binance in May.
