YouTuber Coffeezilla has published an investigation into Donald Trump’s business dealings, examining the family’s cryptocurrency ventures, foreign investments and relationships with companies facing regulatory scrutiny.
Conducted with researcher Molly White, it covers World Liberty Financial, the family’s memecoins, Bitcoin mining ventures and prediction-market connections.
A central focus is a reported USD 500 million investment in World Liberty Financial by an investment vehicle linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser. Four days before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration, the vehicle agreed to acquire a 49% stake, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation discussed in Coffeezilla’s report.
The report links the deal to MGX, an Abu Dhabi investment company chaired by Tahnoon. MGX later used World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to facilitate its USD 2 billion investment in cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The transaction increased USD1’s circulation and potential reserve income. World Liberty rejected suggestions of political favoritism, saying MGX selected USD1 on its merits and that the company had no influence over government policy.
Coffeezilla also examined Tron founder Justin Sun’s USD 75 million investment in World Liberty while he faced an SEC civil fraud case. Sun later became an adviser, before a dispute over WLFI token governance. The SEC subsequently resolved its case involving Sun and his companies. The Trump administration pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
According to White, Binance promotional campaigns helped USD1 adoption, with some offering annualized yields of 20% to customers holding the token. World Liberty said the stablecoin’s growth reflected demand and commercial arrangements.
The investigation cited approximately USD 600 million generated through the TRUMP memecoin and USD 6 million associated with Melania Trump’s crypto and NFT ventures. White said the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens had fallen about 95% and 99% from their peaks.
The report examined American Bitcoin, Trump Media & Technology Group’s crypto plans, and Donald Trump Jr.’s advisory roles with prediction-market operators Kalshi and Polymarket. Coffeezilla said he sought comment from Trump and his family but received no response. World Liberty and other parties denied allegations of improper arrangements.