Steve Witkoff flew to the United Arab Emirates with two goals

A month before President Trump took office, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff flew to the United Arab Emirates with two goals

A month before President Trump took office, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff flew to the United Arab Emirates with two goals: to discuss regional issues with Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, and to attend a cryptocurrency conference.

Less than five months later, at a conference in Dubai, the son of the U.S. envoy announced that his crypto company, World Liberty Financial, had reached an agreement with Tahnoon's company, which would purchase $2 billion of the company's cryptocurrency. The U.S. officials and the Trump family, who hold a 60% stake in the company, are expected to share tens of millions of dollars in annual profits.

On May 15, the elder Witkoff met with Tahnoon again, this time to unveil a deal long sought by the UAE: giving the oil-rich Gulf monarchy access to millions of advanced American-made computer chips.

Steve

's travels to handle diplomatic affairs since becoming the special envoy. Meanwhile, his 32-year-old son Zach Witkoff and his team of advisors have traveled to at least four countries to promote crypto trading aimed at making World Liberty Financial a leading player in the industry.

The parallel dealings of the father and son in the UAE provide a stark example of how World Liberty Financial's commercial endeavors are intertwining with official government business.

As part of his efforts to expand into new markets, one of Zach Witkoff's colleagues pitched Trump as "the Godfather" and said World Liberty would take advantage of the increasingly friendly crypto regulatory policy changes in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. His posts on the X platform often mention his father's work for the White House.

The interweaving of government negotiations and private business deals is rewriting the rules of diplomacy for some countries trying to forge ties with the new Trump administration. The pursuit of business opportunities in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere by Trump-linked parties, including the Witkoffs, since Trump took office has not previously been reported.

In addition to hiring U.S. lobbyists and sending delegations to Washington to improve relations with the Trump White House, some countries seeking to advance their own affairs have met with family members and friends of U.S. officials, according to people familiar with the matter and photos and videos of the meetings posted on social media. For example, a senior Pakistani finance minister met with the sister-in-law of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the 19-year-old son of a close friend of Donald Trump Jr. to discuss digital assets.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Steve is planning to divest from World Liberty and has no "operating role" at the company and will not discuss company or personal matters while in government. She said Trump is "incredibly proud of what Steve has accomplished." does not receive a government salary but travels around the world on a private jet and has not disclosed his finances. He has said he will transfer all of his assets to his sons.

David Wachsman, a spokesman for World Liberty, said the company’s business dealings have nothing to do with the U.S. government and that the company “is not even in a position to discuss official government matters.” He said it was incorrect to “try to characterize World Liberty and Ambassador doing meetings in the same country as some kind of conflict of interest,” adding that “there is no connection between the two.”

He denied that one of's colleagues called Trump his godfather, noting that is Jewish and does not have a godfather.

The Trump Organization, the Trump family’s real estate company, has pledged not to strike new deals with foreign governments during the Trump administration. World Liberty has made no such commitment.

Before getting involved in the cryptocurrency space, worked as a project manager at his father’s New York real estate company, the Witkoff Group. In 2020, he took over the family office and, according to his LinkedIn profile, is “focused on blockchain.” He founded World Liberty with his father and others in September, seven weeks before the presidential election.

World Liberty, which has issued a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency called USD1 that is designed to help businesses and individuals move money across borders outside the banking system, has marketed its tokens to foreign governments eager to improve relations with the U.S., according to people who have worked with the company.

In addition to World Liberty’s meetings with UAE officials,, also met with senior government officials in Pakistan, weeks before those same people negotiated a ceasefire with India with the Trump administration. He told them that World Liberty could use blockchain technology to “tokenize” the buying and selling of Pakistan’s rare earth minerals. Meanwhile, Pakistan has been negotiating a potentially trillion-dollar rare earth and other minerals deal with the United States, according to a lobbyist working with Pakistan on the deal.

A World Liberty spokesman said the company's meetings in Pakistan had