A shareholder of Circle Internet Financial, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has sued US President Donald Trump, his family’s crypto venture World Liberty Financial, affiliated entities and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The case centres on allegations that dealings involving World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin gave foreign interests a route into the crypto market while weakening Circle’s ability to compete.
According to Cointelegraph, J. Benjamin Greenberg filed the complaint on Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Greenberg says he owns 10,000 ordinary Circle shares and is bringing the action in part because he believes the alleged transactions harmed the company and its investors.
The complaint focuses on a $2 billion cryptocurrency investment made by MGX, an Abu Dhabi entity linked to the United Arab Emirates’ royal family, in crypto exchange Binance during 2025. The investment used USD1, the stablecoin associated with World Liberty Financial. A stablecoin is a crypto asset designed to maintain a relatively stable value, often around a traditional currency such as the US dollar.
Greenberg alleges that Trump, Witkoff and World Liberty created a mechanism through which foreign governments could channel money through the Trump family’s crypto company. He argues that accepting funds connected to a foreign government diverted business from Circle and left USDC at a competitive disadvantage.
The lawsuit describes the conduct as “brazen corruption” and asks the court for several forms of relief. Greenberg wants a declaration that Trump’s alleged actions violated the US Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, an injunction preventing Trump and Witkoff from pursuing similar financial interests without congressional consent, and an accounting of payments from foreign states to Trump and his businesses. He is also seeking the return of what he describes as improperly received benefits, along with compensatory and punitive damages.
The transactions at the centre of the case
The MGX-Binance transaction is the main deal identified in the complaint. The filing links it to USD1 and argues that the arrangement enabled substantial foreign-government-related funds to flow through World Liberty Financial.
The source material also points to a separate deal reported by The Wall Street Journal in February. Under that arrangement, another investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million.
World Liberty was co-founded by Zach Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, as well as Trump and his three sons. The lawsuit therefore names both the presidential family’s crypto business and people connected to its ownership and operation.
Circle said it did not initiate, direct, authorise or participate in the filing, and declined to comment on pending litigation. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump had “no conflicts of interest” involving his crypto investments and called the case “frivolous.” A World Liberty spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The allegations have not been resolved by the court. The lawsuit represents the claims of one Circle shareholder, rather than a finding that the defendants violated the Constitution or other laws.
Political scrutiny intensifies before the midterms
The legal action comes as Trump’s crypto activities face increased political attention ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections. The source material says fewer than two weeks remained before the elections when the report was published, while early voting had already begun in some states.
Democratic candidates seeking reelection are using Trump’s crypto dealings as a campaign issue. Senator Mark Warner released an advertisement the previous week that highlighted the president’s reported earnings of more than $600 million from a crypto memecoin.
Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organisation, reported that Trump’s family-linked crypto ventures generated $1.4 billion for him in 2025 while costing investors about $4.7 billion. The source material places those figures within wider scrutiny of Trump’s business dealings, including his acceptance of a jet from the government of Qatar.
The Circle case adds a corporate and constitutional dimension to that political debate. Rather than focusing only on the value of Trump-linked crypto assets, Greenberg’s complaint argues that the structure of the transactions affected a publicly traded stablecoin company and raises questions about foreign financial benefits received by a sitting president.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 11:08-11:09 pm on October 22, 2026, showed both stablecoins trading slightly below $1. USDC was priced at $0.9997844314, down 0.01% over 24 hours and 0.02% over seven days. USD1 was priced at $0.9987914263, also down 0.01% over 24 hours and 0.03% over seven days.
Other related assets were weaker. The STABLE token was at $0.0256223272, down 2.25% in 24 hours and 6.02% over seven days. The OFFICIAL TRUMP token stood at $1.7290689812, down 5.7% over 24 hours and 8.08% over seven days. These figures describe market prices and recent changes at the stated times; they do not determine the outcome of the lawsuit.
