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SearchJ. Benjamin Greenberg accuses Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial, and Steve Witkoff of benefiting from transactions with UAE entities and harming Circle. The White House rejects the lawsuit, and World Liberty maintains it complies with the law.
A shareholder of Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, filed a federal lawsuit in Washington on October 22, 2026, against President Donald Trump, the crypto firm World Liberty Financial, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. J. Benjamin Greenberg argues that two transactions related to the United Arab Emirates violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution and harmed Circle by favoring a competitor.
The allegations are part of a lawsuit, not a judicial decision: the court must still determine if they are valid and what evidence supports the claims. Greenberg seeks a declaration that a violation occurred, an injunction to stop the questioned conduct, and the return of profits, in addition to claiming damages.
The first transaction highlighted is the sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million to an investment vehicle backed by a member of the ruling UAE family.
The second involves MGX, a fund from Abu Dhabi. According to the lawsuit, MGX used the USD1 stablecoin, issued by World Liberty, to finance an investment of $2 billion in Binance. Greenberg claims that these transactions allowed money from foreign entities to be channeled toward business interests linked to Trump and gave USD1 a competitive advantage over USDC.
The Foreign Emoluments Clause limits the acceptance of payments, gifts, or other benefits from foreign governments by certain U.S. officials without Congressional authorization. The controversy lies, among other aspects, in whether the described transactions fall under this prohibition and whether Greenberg can claim on behalf of Circle for the alleged harm.
Greenberg filed a derivative suit, an action initiated by a shareholder to claim on behalf of a company. He alleges that World Liberty's competition in the stablecoin market harmed Circle and its investors. The relationship between the reported transactions and specific harm to the company will be relevant for the case to proceed; shareholder status alone does not establish that harm occurred or that the defendants are liable.
Circle distanced itself from the initiative. A spokesperson stated that the company did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing. Therefore, the lawsuit is not an action promoted by Circle as a company.
The White House called the lawsuit "frivolous" and denied that Trump has conflicts of interest due to his investments in cryptocurrencies. World Liberty, for its part, stated that it complies with U.S. laws and regulations and maintained that the allegations are baseless. These are the positions of the parties; they do not equate to a judicial resolution.
The case joins previous lawsuits against Trump related to the constitutional clause, several of which did not result in a return of money or an order ending the questioned practices. These precedents provide context but do not determine the outcome of this new lawsuit, which refers to its own transactions and arguments.
For now, the scope of the case will depend on the court's decisions regarding the claims and the evidence presented. The lawsuit does not prove by itself that the Constitution was violated or that Circle suffered the alleged economic harm.
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