Circle shareholder sues Trump over $2 billion Binance deal

A shareholder of Circle Internet Financial filed a lawsuit Thursday, Oct. 22, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against President Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial, affiliated entities and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

J. Benjamin Greenberg alleges that Trump, Witkoff and World Liberty created a way for foreign governments to transfer money through the Trump family’s crypto company. He claims the arrangement harmed Circle and made it harder for the company to compete with its USDC stablecoin.

The complaint focuses on MGX, an Abu Dhabi investment entity linked to the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates. MGX invested $2 billion in Binance in 2025 using World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin, according to the filing. The complaint also cites an agreement under which an investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan would acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million.

In the complaint, Greenberg called the transactions “brazen corruption” and alleged that accepting money from a foreign government diverted business from Circle. He claims the transactions violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which restricts federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign states without congressional approval.

Greenberg said he owns 10,000 ordinary Circle shares. He asked the court to declare Trump’s alleged conduct unconstitutional, prevent Trump and Witkoff from pursuing similar financial interests without congressional approval, and require an accounting of payments from foreign governments. He also seeks the return of funds allegedly accepted through the transactions, along with compensatory and punitive damages.

Circle said it did not initiate, direct, authorize or participate in the filing and declined to comment on pending litigation. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly called the lawsuit “frivolous” and said Trump had no conflicts of interest involving his crypto investments. World Liberty did not respond to a request for comment.

Zach Witkoff, Steve Witkoff’s son, is a co-founder of World Liberty. Trump and his three sons are also co-founders. Trump has reported income from several crypto ventures, including World Liberty.

The lawsuit was filed less than two weeks before the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, with early voting underway in some states. Democratic candidates have highlighted Trump’s crypto ventures in campaign messaging. Senator Mark Warner released an advertisement claiming Trump earned more than $600 million from a crypto memecoin.