Circle shareholder sues Trump, World Liberty and Steve Witkoff over crypto deals

According to a Circle shareholder, the US president’s “corruption” through USD1 left the company unable to compete with stablecoins, harming USDC. Update (Oct. 22, 10:27 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from the White House. A shareholder for Circle Internet Financial, the company behind the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump, his family’s crypto company World Liberty Financial, affiliate entities, and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff over a $2 billion deal between a foreign government entity and Binance. In a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Circle shareholder J. Benjamin Greenberg alleged that Trump, Witkoff and World Liberty caused harm to Circle by creating a pathway for foreign governments to funnel money using the Trump family crypto company’s USD1 stablecoin. This “brazen corruption,” according to Greenberg, leaves Circle “unable to compete” in the stablecoin market with its USDC. Central to the Circle shareholder’s allegations is an Abu Dhabi entity, MGX, tied to the United Arab Emirates royalty, which invested $2 billion into cryptocurrency exchange Binance using the USD1 stablecoin in 2025. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that another investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to purchase a 49% stake 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],” alleged Greenberg, adding: Related: Trump didn‘t mention ‘crypto’ once in White House cybercrime roundtable Greenberg reported holding 10,000 ordinary shares of Circle as part of his reasons for the lawsuit. He petitioned the court to declare that Trump violated the US Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause through the crypto deals and to issue injunctions preventing the president and Witkoff from pursuing similar financial interests without Congress’ consent. Zach Witkoff, the son of the Witkoff named in the lawsuit, is a World Liberty co-founder. Trump and his three sons are also co-founders of the crypto venture. A Circle spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company “did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing,” declining to comment on pending litigation. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said that Trump had “no conflicts of interest“ with his crypto investments, calling the lawsuit “frivolous.“ A spokesperson for World Liberty did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. The US president and his family are tied to se