An Abu Dhabi investment firm plans to invest $2 billion in Binance using USD1, a stablecoin from Donald Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. The announcement was made at a Dubai conference by Zach Witkoff, highlighting the stablecoin’s backing by US treasuries. USD1 has quickly risen to about $2.1 billion in circulation, while the identity of major holders remains unknown. Changpeng Zhao of Binance was also seen with World Liberty’s co-founders in Abu Dhabi recently.
An Abu Dhabi investment firm is set to invest a whopping $2 billion in Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, using a new stablecoin linked to Donald Trump’s crypto venture. During a recent crypto conference held in Dubai, Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty Financial — which aims to provide direct financial services to consumers without banks — announced the exciting news concerning their stablecoin, USD1.
USD1, which is designed to be a dollar-pegged stablecoin, was officially launched in March. This unique digital currency is backed by a range of assets including US treasuries, actual dollars, and similar cash equivalents. The backing structure is intended to help stabilise its value, while also generating profit for its issuers through interest on the underlying assets.
Witkoff confirmed that USD1 would serve as the official stablecoin for the investment from MGX, based in Abu Dhabi, into Binance. Excited about the partnership, Witkoff expressed optimism about World Liberty’s rising influence within the cryptocurrency landscape. Notably, USD1 operates on Binance’s blockchain, highlighting the two companies’ interconnectedness.
In the realm of crypto trading, stablecoins like USD1 have become immensely profitable. They play a crucial role in the broader market ecosystem, as their issuers tend to earn considerable interest from the secure assets that back them. Recent data from CoinMarketCap suggests USD1 has surged to a circulation value of approximately $2.1 billion as of Wednesday, marking its position as one of the fastest-growing stablecoins amidst an ever-evolving market, though the identity of its major holders remains somewhat murky.
Further analysis from Arkham, a crypto research firm, indicates an anonymous wallet accumulated $2 billion worth of USD1 between April 16 and 29, though there’s currently no way to identify the owner behind this high-value wallet. Additionally, Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, who had a legal situation in the US last year, has been seen socialising with Witkoff and other co-founders from World Liberty in Abu Dhabi. He shared a photo of the meeting on social media platform X, expressing pleasure in reconnecting with his friends from World Liberty.
This latest investment and the involvement of USD1 in such a major deal further solidifies the growing importance of stablecoins in crypto-finance and points to the potential future integrations between traditional finance and the broader digital landscape, peppered, however, with uncertainty regarding ownership and legal frameworks that could impact its trajectory.
