World Liberty Financial CEO Addresses Concerns Over Political Influence
The CEO of World Liberty Financial, a company connected to Donald Trump, asserts that the firm functions independently and provides significant utility, pushing back against accusations of possible conflicts of interest.
Founded in 2024, the cryptocurrency venture by Trump, his sons, and their associates runs the USD1 stablecoin. It has also recently received conditional authorization for a national trust-bank charter, which will enable the firm to manage the issuance and custody of USD1 internally.
Trump’s financial disclosures revealed that he earned approximately $515 million from token sales by World Liberty Financial and an additional $65 million from equity sales in the company’s holding entity in 2025.
CEO Zach Witkoff, who is the son of Stephen Witkoff, a special envoy for the Middle East, stated that fears around the possibility of using USD1 to funnel money to Trump and his family are unfounded. He highlighted the stablecoin’s liquidity, utility, and distribution as key factors. He mentioned during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that there are over $4 billion of USD1 in circulation, with trading volumes exceeding a billion dollars daily. “Just before I went on set, the volume was $1.7 billion in the past 24 hours,” he noted, emphasizing the active use of USD1.
Concerns about potential conflicts of interest have intensified due to a reported 49% stake acquisition in World Liberty by a group associated with the United Arab Emirates. This has raised questions among congressional Democrats about whether this investment could impact administration policies related to AI-chip exports and arms sales. Additionally, the Trump family is poised to receive about $500 million from a deal involving WLF and Alt5 Sigma, although that particular stock has since seen a sharp decline.
Witkoff reiterated that Trump was a successful businessman well before his presidency. He described USD1 as merely a small segment of the Trump family’s extensive business interests, again pointing out that customers use the stablecoin on a daily basis.
He emphasized that he has never discussed business matters with the president and has no plans to do so in the future, maintaining a focus on enhancing World Liberty’s utility for customers. “I don’t spend my time worrying about those accusations,” he said regarding the conflict-of-interest claims. “I concentrate on how I can execute effectively for our employees and customers. The internet is constantly moving, and the dollar should too. I think stablecoins are becoming the essential cash layer of the internet, and USD1 will be a significant player in that space.”
