TheBlock
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates' national security advisor and brother of the country's president, has taken a 49% stake in the holding company World Liberty Financial created to pursue a US national trust bank charter, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Tahnoon and co-investors routed the position through an entity called StringZ Holding RSC, while the holding company itself is named WLTC Holdings. The development lands just weeks after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted World Liberty Trust Company preliminary approval to become a national trust bank, a license WLF has said would let it offer stablecoin issuance and redemption, on-ramp and off-ramp services, and digital-asset custody and conversion.
Why it matters
This is the second major Tahnoon-linked investment in WLF in under a year. Earlier in 2025, a Tahnoon-backed vehicle quietly acquired a 49% stake in WLF itself for $500 million just days before President Trump's inauguration, prompting investigations from Rep. Ro Khanna in the House and calls from Senate Democrats for hearings on the conflict of interest. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said Trump "only acts in the best interests of the American public" and pushed back on the conflict framing, but the optics of a sitting US president's family firm accepting a near-half ownership block from a foreign national-security principal are hard to dismiss.
Market impact
The bank-charter pathway is what makes this more than a real-estate deal. WLF's USD1 stablecoin already sits at roughly $4 billion in market capitalization, ranking fourth globally behind Tether and Circle's USDC. A national trust bank license would let WLF mint and redeem USD1 inside a regulated perimeter, plug into Fed payment rails for on-ramp and off-ramp flows, and convert directly to fiat for institutional clients. That is the structural legitimization step USD1 has been waiting for, positioning WLF as a credible fourth pillar in a stablecoin market long dominated by two issuers.
Frequently asked questions
-
Who is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan?
Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan is the United Arab Emirates' national security advisor and the brother of the UAE's president. He is one of the country's most powerful royal figures and runs multiple sovereign investment vehicles.
-
What is World Liberty Financial?
World Liberty Financial is a crypto venture tied to President Donald Trump's family that issues the USD1 stablecoin. It created a holding company called WLTC Holdings and a trust subsidiary to pursue a US national trust bank charter.
-
How large is the USD1 stablecoin?
USD1 has a market capitalization of roughly $4 billion, making it the world's fourth-largest stablecoin behind Tether and Circle's USDC.
-
Why does a national trust bank charter matter for WLF?
A national trust bank license from the OCC would let WLF mint and redeem USD1 inside a federally regulated perimeter, run fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, and offer digital-asset custody and conversion to institutional clients.
-
What conflict-of-interest concerns have been raised?
Senate Democrats have urged hearings on Tahnoon's earlier $500 million investment in WLF days before Trump's inauguration, and Rep. Ro Khanna opened a House investigation in February. The White House says Trump 'only acts in the best interests of the American public' and denies any conflict.
CoinTelegraph
CoinDesk
WuBlockchain
CryptoSlate
Lookonchain