A New York Times investigation has put fresh attention on a pair of billion-dollar deals involving the United Arab Emirates, advanced AI chips, and a cryptocurrency company tied to the Trump and Witkoff families.
The core issue is not only the size of the transactions. It is the timing, the overlap among key people, and the way public policy and private business appeared to advance at the same time.
Two Deals Moved In Parallel
In May 2025, Zach Witkoff announced in Dubai that an investment firm controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan would put $2 billion into World Liberty Financial. Zach Witkoff is the son of real estate investor and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff.
World Liberty Financial is a new crypto company tied to the Trump and Witkoff families. The Emirati investment immediately gave the company a much larger profile in cryptocurrency, according to the source article.
Two weeks after that announcement, the White House approved an arrangement that would give the Emirates access to hundreds of thousands of cutting-edge AI chips. Many of those chips were intended for G42, a technology company chaired and controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon.
That chip deal is still pending, with final terms being negotiated in Washington. The fact that one deal involved private crypto funding while the other involved access to advanced US technology is what has made the timeline politically sensitive.
Why World Liberty Financial Mattered
World Liberty Financial’s central product is the USD1 stablecoin, which is designed for “sovereign investors and major institutions.” The company also struck a deal with MGX, a company co-founded by G42, where Sheikh Tahnoon serves as chairman.
MGX was set to use World Liberty’s USD1 to complete a $2 billion investment in Binance. Binance called that transaction “the single largest investment in a crypto company ever.”
The transaction had another important effect. It gave World Liberty a $2 billion bank deposit base, which the source says generated annual returns in the tens of millions.
That matters because the crypto arrangement was not just a headline investment. It created a major financial base for a company linked to politically connected families at the same time US officials were weighing a technology agreement important to the UAE.
The AI Chip Question
At the same time, the White House, Emirati officials, and US technology firms were negotiating over AI hardware. Under President Biden, similar requests had faced strict limits.
The UAE had previously obtained access to a small number of high-performance chips through a government-approved partnership with Microsoft. That arrangement came with restrictions, and G42 agreed to strip certain Chinese technology from its operations as part of that deal.
The newer arrangement would be much larger. The source describes access to hundreds of thousands of cutting-edge AI chips, with many slated for G42.
That is why the negotiations drew resistance inside the administration. According to the Times, members of the National Security Council wanted tighter limits to prevent advanced US technology from flowing to China.
Ethics Concerns Around Witkoff And Sacks
The overlap between private financial interests and public responsibilities raised red flags. Steve Witkoff, serving as Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, supported giving the UAE access to AI chips while World Liberty received billions in Emirati funds.
In May, World Liberty said Witkoff would fully divest from the company. But a disclosure released in August showed that he still held a financial interest. The White House said Witkoff was “still in the process of divesting” and was “working with ethics officials and counsel to ensure he is in full compliance.”
David Sacks was another key figure. He is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, co-founder of Craft Ventures, and since 2025, the White House’s “AI and crypto czar.”
Sacks received an ethics waiver that allowed him to take part in policy decisions despite relevant financial holdings. Early investors in Craft Ventures included the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which is also overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon.
The White House said Sacks had acted appropriately and added: “Mr. Sacks has no financial interest in the U.A.E. chip deal.”
Internal Resistance And Official Denials
The New York Times also reported a shift inside the White House. Trump dismissed six National Security Council staffers, including David Feith, after a 30-minute meeting with conservative activist Laura Loomer.
With Feith gone, Sacks took a central role in the negotiations. That change mattered because some officials had wanted stricter limits on expanding chip exports.
Three ethics lawyers interviewed by The New York Times said the transactions violated long-standing US norms for separating senior officials’ public responsibilities from private business involving them or their families.
Both the White House and World Liberty denied any connection between the crypto and chip deals. A World Liberty spokesperson called the $2 billion investment “completely independent of government matters.”
A G42 spokesman said the company was “grounded in integrity” and committed to “safeguards, auditing, and coordination with the Americans to ensure that U.S. technology does not get into the wrong hands.”
The pending status of the chip agreement leaves the issue unresolved. What is clear from the investigation is that AI infrastructure, crypto finance, diplomacy, and ethics are no longer separate policy lanes. In this case, they converged around the same government, the same region, and several of the same influential figures.