The UAE-based crypto fund Aqua 1 Foundation has invested $100 million in World Liberty Financial's native token WLFI, marking a significant backing for the Ethereum-based DeFi platform associated with former President Trump. WLFI serves as the governance token allowing holders to vote on project developments. This investment aims to accelerate the creation of a blockchain-powered financial ecosystem merging traditional finance with decentralized solutions.
The partnership will promote expansion of the USD1 stablecoin ecosystem and increase stablecoin usage in payment systems ahead of legislative developments. Aqua 1’s purchase grants it major influence over World Liberty Financial’s governance as the Trump family’s ownership stake reduced from 60% to 40%. World Liberty Financial focuses on real-world asset tokenization and decentralized borrowing and lending.
World Liberty Financial and Aqua 1 are developing an institutional-grade marketplace called BlockRock to bridge legacy financial systems with blockchain infrastructure, facilitating secure tokenization of premium traditional assets and compliance with regulations. The initiative targets global institutional investors including banks and fintechs, aiming to improve global financial access and scale Web3 adoption, especially across Asia, Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
While the project has faced scrutiny and investigations related to token sales and investment transparency, this partnership underscores a strategic move to integrate decentralized finance into mainstream markets with significant institutional support from the UAE region.