In a recent letter, several Senate Democrats have raised concerns about a possible violation of federal ethics laws by the US special envoy to the Middle East due to his failure to sell his crypto asset holdings.
US senators raise questions over Witkoff’s crypto holdings
On Wednesday, eight Senate Democrats led by Senator Adam Schiff questioned US Special Envoy for Peace Steve Witkoff about his ownership of digital assets and his ties to the Trump family’s crypto ventures.
In a letter shared by Fortune, US lawmakers raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest as Witkoff’s latest financial disclosures revealed that he has not yet divested from some of his crypto holdings, including an ownership stake in World Liberty Financial (WLF) and the company’s WLFI token. Notably, the US special envoy is one of the co-founders of WLFI along with his son, Zach Witkoff, and members of the Trump family.
Senate Democrats' letter to Steve Witkoff. Source: Fortune
“As long as you retain ownership of these assets, you can benefit from any decisions you make while serving in the Administration. Additionally, the public has reason to be concerned that your decision-making may also be influenced by your close personal and business relationships with the Trump Organization,” the letter said.
The senators noted that Jack Folkman, one of WLFI’s co-founders, had previously confirmed that as of May 23, 2025, Witkoff had “no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI deals, and no influence on day-to-day decisions.” Folkman also said that Witkoff was “in the process of completely separating from WLFI”, which had not happened at the time the White House financial report was released in August.
For lawmakers, it underlined the “disturbing entanglement” between the US special envoy’s official duties and his private financial interest tied to Trump family businesses, highlighting World Liberty Financial’s $2 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) firm that included the company’s stablecoin USD1.
As reported by Bitcoinist, previous Wall Street Journal (WSJ) coverage raised similar concerns about “the extraordinary blurring of government negotiations and private business transactions,” claiming it is “rewriting the diplomatic playbook for some foreign countries seeking to gain traction with the new Trump administration.”
In May, the WSJ claimed that father-son duo Steve and Zach Witkoff potentially helped blur the lines of private business and public duties of the current administration, highlighting World Liberty Financial’s deal to enable MGX’s $2 billion investment.
The report also cites a previous article that claimed the elder Witkoff was allegedly involved in negotiations between the Trump family and Binance. However, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has denied these discussions.
Ethical Compliance Inquiry Mount
“Your failure to sell your ownership in these assets raises serious questions about your compliance with federal ethics laws and, more importantly, your ability to serve the American people above your own financial interests,” the lawmakers said.
In the letter, Senate Democrats asked Witkoff to respond to several requests by October 31, 2025. Among the questions, he inquired about the status of his financial interest in a crypto company linked to Trump.
Additionally, he asked the US Special Envoy whether he had received any written waiver that exempts him from penalties and allows him to participate in important discussions with the UAE while keeping a stake in WLFI.
If not exempt, they also requested clarification on how Witkoff’s financial stake does not violate federal ethics laws and regulations, which prevent government officials from participating in enterprises that could benefit them or their relatives.
It’s worth noting that Witkoff is one of several US officials who have been questioned about their own holdings or the US president’s crypto ventures. In July, Senate Democrats pressed the new head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) about a potential conflict of interest related to the Trump family’s stablecoin, USD1.
Earlier this year, two senators raised similar concerns in a letter to Mark Ueda, the former acting chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers four months ago proposed the Curbing Officials’ Income and Non-Disclosure (COIN) Act to prevent crypto-related conflicts of interest.
A recent investigation revealed that, unlike most of his predecessors, President Trump has not placed his crypto ventures in a trust managed by an independent party. However, the White House has denied any potential conflict of interest between the president’s businesses and his official duties.
WLFI trades at $0.12 in the one-week chart. Source: WLFIUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from tradingview.com
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