Sheikh Stakes His Claim: Tahnoon-Linked Investors Sit Atop Trump Crypto Bank With 49% Slice 🏦

Investors tied to United Arab Emirates national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan and co-investors own 49% of the holding company formed for the Trump-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial's planned US banking business, according to people familiar with the matter as cited by The Wall Street Journal. The stake makes the Tahnoon-linked group the largest shareholders in the holding entity behind the bank. World Liberty Financial told the Journal there is no conflict of interest in the arrangement.

The ownership structure follows a $500 million investment in World Liberty Financial that Tahnoon backed last year in exchange for a 49% stake in the company, the Journal previously reported. The new banking venture extends the business relationship between the Trump-family crypto firm and a foreign government official, the paper said.

Earlier this month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for World Liberty Financial to launch a federally chartered national trust bank, according to the Journal's Aug. 27 report. The proposed institution would issue, redeem and safeguard USD1, the dollar-backed stablecoin World Liberty launched last year.

The Journal reported that the expansion deepens commercial ties between the Trump-aligned crypto venture and Tahnoon, who chairs Abu Dhabi's Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council and serves as chairman of the International Holding Company. A Good Morning America segment on Aug. 28, 2026, summarized the Journal's reporting on the arrangement. World Liberty Financial's spokesperson, when contacted by ABC News, said the company denies any conflict of interest.

The reported $500 million figure and 49% ownership stake match prior disclosures about Tahnoon's investment in World Liberty Financial. The conditional OCC approval marks a regulatory milestone for a Trump-family crypto firm seeking to operate a federally chartered trust bank in the United States.