Emre Yumlu 
The Aqua 1 Foundation, based in the United Arab Emirates, has made a major move by purchasing $100 million worth of digital tokens issued by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto venture backed by the family of U.S. President Donald Trump. This investment makes Aqua 1 the largest publicly known backer of the project to date.
In a statement, Aqua 1 said that its acquisition of $WLFI tokens aims to accelerate the development of a blockchain-based financial ecosystem built around stablecoins and tokenized traditional assets.
WLFI Token: Non-Transferable, but Offers Voting Rights
The $WLFI token is currently defined as a governance token. It cannot yet be traded on open markets, but holders are given the right to vote on proposed changes to the project’s underlying codebase. World Liberty confirmed it is “actively working” to make the token transferable in the near future.
Dave Lee, founding partner of Aqua 1, stated that WLFI and Aqua 1 will collaborate to identify and support high-potential blockchain projects. The foundation also revealed that its investment and compliance teams will support World Liberty’s expansion into South America, Europe, and Asia.
Limited Online Footprint for Aqua 1
Despite its high-profile investment, Aqua 1 has a minimal online presence. Its X (formerly Twitter) account has just three posts and about 1,120 followers. Domain data also shows that the foundation’s website was only registered on May 28.
New Fund to Launch in the Middle East
World Liberty has further plans to support the launch of a new Aqua 1 fund focused on accelerating digital economy transformation across the Middle East, leveraging both blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies.
While Aqua 1 did not respond to media inquiries, a World Liberty spokesperson also declined to offer additional comment.
WLFI: A Major Revenue Stream for the Trump Family
World Liberty was launched just two months before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, and has since generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Trump family’s business interests. However, the platform has faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers and ethics watchdogs due to perceived conflicts of interest.
The Trump Organization maintains that the president’s assets and business operations are held in a trust managed by his children.
USD1 Stablecoin and Binance Partnership
World Liberty’s broader mission is to expand access to financial services via digital tokens, removing the need for intermediaries such as banks. As part of this vision, it developed the USD1 stablecoin, which gained momentum in May when an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm selected it for a $2 billion investment into major crypto exchange Binance.
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