Catenaa, Thursday, July 03, 2025-Aqua1, a United Arab Emirates-based crypto fund, announced Thursday it purchased $100 million worth of World Liberty Financial governance tokens, deepening ties with the Trump-backed DeFi project.
The acquisition follows World Liberty’s move to enable trading of its WLFI token, which grants holders voting rights over protocol governance.
The purchase may attract scrutiny over the project’s connections to former President Donald Trump, who owns 15.75 billion WLFI tokens and stands to benefit from any token appreciation.
Financial disclosures show Trump has earned more than $57 million from World Liberty token sales to date.
WLFI holders can propose and vote on governance changes but currently cannot transfer tokens. Aqua1 said its investment will accelerate development of a global blockchain-powered financial ecosystem and strengthen liquidity for WLFI.
“Aligning with Aqua1 validates our blueprint for global financial innovation,” World Liberty co-founder Zak Folkman said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX used World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to close a $2 billion deal with Binance, highlighting growing Middle East interest in the project.
Aqua1 Foundation describes itself as a Web3-native fund committed to stable returns and acting as a liquidity enabler for crypto assets. Its WLFI purchase underscores rising institutional demand for governance tokens and on-chain voting rights.
The Block has reached out to Aqua1 for further comment on its strategic plans and the potential impact on WLFI’s market dynamics.
