A group of Senate Democrats is pressing Republican leaders to open hearings into a reported $500 million transaction involving the Trump family’s crypto venture and Abu Dhabi royalty. In a letter sent Tuesday, the lawmakers said the Senate should immediately investigate the arrangement and require Trump administration officials to testify under oath.
The request follows a January report that an Abu Dhabi investment firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser, agreed in January 2025 to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform associated with President Donald Trump. Democrats argue the timing of the deal raises questions about whether foreign investment in the company influenced later policy decisions.
Their concerns intensified after the Trump administration approved a major arms package and an artificial intelligence chip deal with the UAE in May 2025. The senators said those actions came despite warnings from US national security officials that China could gain access to the chips. Trump has said he was not aware of the World Liberty arrangement.
The lawmakers said they are troubled by what they view as a widening conflict of interest surrounding the Trump family’s crypto holdings, especially as the administration has sought to ease regulation across the digital assets sector. They also pointed to steps they say have weakened enforcement, including exemptions for some crypto service providers from financial regulations and the dismantling of the Justice Department’s crypto enforcement team.
The letter was signed by Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin and Ron Wyden. Warren has already urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to examine whether the UAE investment should be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
The push for hearings is part of a broader Democratic effort to scrutinize the Trump administration’s relationship with World Liberty Financial and other crypto-linked decisions. Lawmakers have also questioned the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to drop a fraud case against Justin Sun, a key backer of the platform, and have examined Trump pardons, including that of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao. That pardon followed a $2 billion investment from an Abu Dhabi fund and an agreement to use World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin.USD/CHF extended its advance for a sixth straight session on Wednesday, briefly touching 0.811 in Asian trading and reaching its highest level in seven months. The pair has been supported by broad US dollar strength, as investors continue to assess the evolving geopolitical backdrop in the Middle East.
Market sentiment improved after US President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities. That view was quickly softened by Iran’s foreign minister, who indicated that meaningful nuclear negotiations have not yet started. At the same time, Iran’s lead negotiator warned that the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its pre-war condition and would remain under Iranian oversight. Diplomacy also remained active elsewhere, with Washington hosting another round of Israel-Lebanon talks aimed at securing a ceasefire involving Hezbollah.
Fresh US economic data added to the dollar’s resilience. The flash S&P Global Composite PMI for June rose to 52.2 from 51.5 in May, signaling continued expansion in private-sector activity. Manufacturing output increased to 55.7 from 55.1, outperforming expectations, while the services index edged up to 51.3 from 50.7 and also came in above forecasts. The figures suggest that the US economy is still growing at a solid pace despite higher borrowing costs.
Those data releases pushed markets toward a more hawkish outlook for the Federal Reserve. According to pricing implied by Fed funds futures, traders now assign a much higher probability to a rate increase later in the year, with expectations for December having risen sharply over the past week.
By contrast, the Swiss National Bank has kept its policy rate unchanged at 0% for a fourth consecutive meeting. While the central bank remains committed to price stability and economic support, it also raised its inflation forecast and reiterated that it stands ready to intervene in foreign-exchange markets if the Swiss franc strengthens too far. Later in the day, traders will watch the Swiss ZEW expectations survey and the SNB’s quarterly bulletin for additional guidance on the outlook.
