Trump-linked crypto firm in deal offering Chinese AI models flagged by US

A cryptocurrency company tied to US President Donald Trump is collaborating with a Hong Kong-based artificial intelligence venture that offers models developed by Chinese technology firms the Trump administration has flagged over national-security concerns, according to a Reuters investigation.

World Liberty Financial, in which the Trump family holds a 38 per cent stake, is working with WorldClaw, an AI platform founded earlier this year. WorldClaw allows users to access a range of AI models and accepts World Liberty’s crypto tokens, including its USD1 stablecoin, as payment.

A Reuters review found that 43 of the 90 AI models available through WorldClaw were developed by Chinese companies including Alibaba, Baidu and Z.ai. The platform also offers models from US companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

The arrangement is not illegal. However, it raises questions because some of the Chinese firms whose models are available through the platform have faced restrictions or scrutiny from the US government over national-security and intellectual-property concerns.

The US government has taken an increasingly hard line on Chinese technology companies in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence.

The US Department of Defense has designated Alibaba and Baidu as Chinese military companies, a status that prevents the Pentagon from doing business with them.

More from Business

Z.ai, formerly known as Zhipu AI, has been placed on the US Commerce Department’s Entity List. The designation imposes stringent restrictions on access to US technologies and generally requires companies to obtain an export licence for transactions involving listed entities.

WorldClaw also offers models from DeepSeek and Moonshot, two Chinese AI companies that US officials have accused of intellectual-property theft or other problematic conduct.

The Chinese companies have disputed some of the US allegations and designations.

Potential security risks

The concerns go beyond the political optics of a Trump-linked business working with a platform that distributes Chinese AI models.

Experts have warned that the use of Chinese AI systems could create potential security and privacy risks, including possible exposure of user data, government monitoring, censorship of outputs and vulnerabilities in AI systems.

WorldClaw says on its website that it may share user inputs with the companies providing the AI models.

The company, however, maintains that making a model available does not amount to endorsing its developer.

WorldClaw has described itself as an independently owned and operated AI company and says it is not managed or controlled by World Liberty or its affiliates.

How Trump’s crypto business is connected

The financial link between the two businesses centres partly on World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin.

WorldClaw accepts USD1 as a payment option for access to AI models. World Liberty earns money from the use of its tokens, while USD1 is backed by traditional assets, including US Treasury securities.

The Trump family is entitled to a share of the interest earned on those assets.

Reuters said it could not establish the exact financial arrangements between World Liberty and WorldClaw or determine how much the Trump family has earned from WorldClaw-related crypto payments.

The relationship nevertheless has visible links. Ryan Fang, World Liberty’s head of growth, has served as an adviser to WorldClaw, according to the company. Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, have also promoted WorldClaw on X.

The Trump family’s earnings from World Liberty token sales have exceeded $1.4 billion, Reuters reported in June.

Washington’s China policy creates a contradiction

The WorldClaw arrangement comes as the Trump administration tries to balance two competing priorities: maintaining US leadership in artificial intelligence while limiting China’s access to advanced technology.

Trump has repeatedly stressed the need for the US to stay ahead of China in AI. At the same time, Washington has imposed restrictions on several Chinese technology firms and raised concerns about their links to the Chinese military and the potential misuse of advanced technologies.

The administration’s position has also evolved as Washington and Beijing have sought to reduce tensions and prepare for a planned Trump-Xi Jinping summit.

The White House said there were no conflicts of interest and that Trump “only acts in the best interests of the American public”.

World Liberty said WorldClaw was an independent company. A WorldClaw spokesperson said the platform helps US AI companies reach international users and stressed that offering a model does not constitute an endorsement of its developer.

For now, the partnership highlights a growing challenge for Washington: Chinese AI models are becoming widely available and increasingly competitive, even as the US government treats some of their developers as potential national-security risks

(With inputs from agencies.)