Circle Shareholder Sues Trump, World Liberty and Witkoff, Claiming USD1 Deals Hurt USDC

A shareholder of Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump, the family crypto firm World Liberty Financial, several affiliated entities and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The complaint was filed Thursday in Washington by J. Benjamin Greenberg, who says he owns 10,000 Circle shares. He argues that the defendants opened a path for foreign governments to move money through the USD1 stablecoin, leaving Circle unable to compete fairly in the market. Circle said it did not start, direct, approve or join the case and declined to discuss pending litigation.

Allegations Over Binance Investment and UAE Ties

The suit focuses on MGX, an Abu Dhabi entity linked to the UAE ruling family, which put $2 billion into Binance in 2025 using USD1. It also mentions a report that another vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million. Greenberg claims that taking hundreds of millions from a foreign government diverted business away from Circle. He wants the court to rule that the conduct breaks the Foreign Emoluments Clause, block similar arrangements without congressional consent, order an accounting of foreign payments, and require disgorgement plus compensatory and punitive damages.

White House Response and Midterm Politics

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump has no conflicts of interest and called the case frivolous. World Liberty did not respond to requests for comment. Zach Witkoff, son of the envoy, is a World Liberty co-founder, along with Trump and his three sons. Trump reported earning $1.4 billion from crypto in 2025, while Public Citizen estimates his ventures cost investors about $4.7 billion. With the midterms less than two weeks away, Democrats are using the issue in campaigns, and Senator Mark Warner released an ad citing more than $600 million from the memecoin.