Fighters at the controversial “UFC Freedom 250” event held on the White House lawn will receive performance bonuses paid in the USD1 stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a crypto company linked to the Trump family. The company confirmed bonuses of up to $250,000 would be paid in USD1, whose price rose above its $1 peg amid a surge in trading volume. The event, part of semiquincentennial celebrations and criticized for its $60 million cost, also featured sponsors Polymarket and Crypto.com. World Liberty, which has a national trust charter application pending, is central to ongoing corruption allegations against the president.
World Liberty Financial will pay up to $250,000 in fighter bonuses using its USD1 stablecoin for the “UFC Freedom 250” event. The event was held on the White House south lawn and reportedly cost $60 million.
The price of USD1 rose above its $1 peg on June 12 and trading volume increased over 93% to $2.38 billion. Other sponsors included Crypto.com, which offered $1 million in bonuses with its Cronos token.
The Trump family launched World Liberty in 2024 and it has faced controversy over corruption claims. President Trump’s January 2025 financial disclosures listed his holdings in the company as worth over $50 million.
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Jaelin O’Halloran said “Trump never misses an opportunity to use the power of the presidency to make himself and his family even richer.” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle stated that “there are no conflicts of interest” and Trump’s assets are in a trust.
In April, Tron founder Justin Sun sued World Liberty, alleging it froze his tokens without justification. World Liberty countersued the Trump supporter weeks later.
The company also has an application pending for a national trust charter. In May 2025, a UAE company planned to use USD1 to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance.
