UAE Royal Funds Half-Billion Trump Crypto Deal Ahead of AI Chip Access

A Wall Street Journal report alleges a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family secretly backed a $500 million investment in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture, acquiring 49% of World Liberty Financial and directing about $187 million upfront to Trump entities (with at least $31 million to Witkoff entities), months before the UAE was granted access to advanced U.S. AI chips; the meeting with Trump and Witkoff at the White House and the scale of the deal have critics calling it bribery with potential national-security implications.