Senator Warren Calls $2B Trump-UAE Crypto Deal 'Shady,' Urges Against Senate Crypto Legislation

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has reissued warnings about President Donald Trump and his family's ties to the crypto industry, cautioning that a recent $2 billion deal backed by the United Arab Emirates could pave the way for “corruption” if the Senate passes new stablecoin legislation.

“The Trump family stablecoin surged to 7th largest in the world because of a shady crypto deal with the United Arab Emirates—a foreign government that will give them a crazy amount of money,” Warren tweeted Monday. “The Senate shouldn’t pass a crypto bill this week to facilitate this kind of corruption.”

Trump has defended his crypto push by framing it as a geopolitical race, saying, “If we don’t do it, China’s going to,” and claiming millions of Americans support it despite earlier opposition from the Biden administration.

The Massachusetts senator was referring to USD1, a newly launched stablecoin backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and issued by World Liberty Financial, a company co-founded by President Trump’s son Eric and crypto investor Zach Witkoff. 

The global stablecoin market currently exceeds $245 billion in circulation, with USD1 ranking seventh according to CoinGecko data, with most tokens backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and other real-world debt instruments.

World Liberty's USD1 is expected to serve as the settlement currency for MGX's $2 billion investment into Binance, the global crypto exchange. 

MGX is an Emirati firm backed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth. Witkoff publicly announced the deal last week during a crypto convention in Dubai, seated alongside Eric Trump.

Warren’s latest warning came accompanied by a video of Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker asking Trump whether he or his family are lining their pockets through the crypto industry.

Trump responded, “I haven’t even looked,” adding, “If I own stock in something and I do a good job and the stock market goes up, I guess I’m profiting.”

Stablecoin Bill Hits Resistance

“This is a bill that would make it even easier for the president and his family to profit off their own stablecoin and oversee their own financial company,” Warren shared last week, referring to the GENIUS Act, the Republican-led bill that would establish the first U.S. regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Warren slammed the Senate’s inaction, saying the Trump-linked crypto deal “looks like corruption, smells like corruption,” and warning that lawmakers are not stopping it, they’re “greenlighting the grift” by pushing forward the legislation.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) passed the Senate Banking Committee in March with bipartisan support and is expected to receive a floor vote this week. 

But as Politico first reported Saturday, nine Senate Democrats, including four who supported the bill in committee, now say they will oppose it in its current form. 

Their joint statement said the bill “still has numerous issues that must be addressed,” including national security risks and insufficient oversight of foreign issuers.

Warren had attempted to amend the bill to prohibit stablecoins used in crimes and impose oversight on foreign firms. 

But her proposals were defeated. “If we do not fix this bill,” she said, “then every senator must vote no—or risk aiding and abetting Trump’s corruption.”

Warren warned that the GENIUS Act, if passed without safeguards, would enable a sitting president to personally profit from financial instruments used by foreign governments. 

“Donald Trump promised lower costs for the American people,” she said. “Instead, he’s running grifts to make more money for himself and breaking the economy for everyone else.”

Last month, Warren accused the president of using crypto legislation “as a grift to enrich himself,” warning that Congress is paving the way for Trump, and others like Elon Musk, “to take control of your money.”

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair