Does Trump’s Biggest Crypto Backer Really Exist? — The Nation Asks

Last month, a Dubai-based entity called Aqua 1 Foundation announced a $100 million investment in World Liberty Financial, a crypto company closely affiliated with the families of U.S. President Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer and former Middle East envoy under the Trump administration, Jacob Silverman reported for The Nation.

The Aqua 1 Foundation, which had been virtually unheard of, instantly became one of the biggest financial backers of Trump’s crypto ventures. I Photo: World Liberty Financial

As is common in such deals, Aqua 1 agreed to purchase $100 million worth of $WLFI, a cryptocurrency token created by World Liberty Financial. Under Trump’s agreement with the company, he receives 75% of all token sale revenues—suggesting that the president may now be $75 million richer.

The Aqua 1 Foundation, which had been virtually unheard of before its June 26 press release, instantly became one of the biggest financial backers of Trump’s crypto ventures—surpassing even Tron founder Justin Sun, who previously invested $75 million in $WLFI and around $19 million in $TRUMP, a memecoin tied to the president.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced shortly after Sun’s purchase that it was pausing its multibillion-dollar fraud case against him.

But in the landscape of Donald Trump’s entanglement with crypto, the Aqua 1 deal stands out not just for its size, but because there’s almost no verifiable evidence that Aqua 1 Foundation exists.

The Aqua 1 website, registered only on May 28, 2025, offers no concrete information about the company—just vague fintech buzzwords and a single email address.

The foundation’s original X (formerly Twitter) account has been suspended, as has an account for what appeared to be an affiliated firm called BlockRock RWA. (“RWA” stands for “real world assets,” a term used in crypto to describe tokenizing tangible assets.)

The only named individual linked to Aqua 1 is a man called Dave Lee, who claims to be a cofounder. His X account, created in December 2023, uses a cartoon avatar and shows no activity prior to June 27, 2025.

He lists his location as “São Paulo–NY–HK–Abu Dhabi” and responded to one inquiry in Portuguese. Beyond that, there is no paper trail—no corporate registration, no other public statements, no identifiable leadership.

And that, Silverman writes, is where the trail ends.