The $100 Million Mystery in Trump’s Crypto Project: Identity of Controversial Figure Exposed

A New York Times investigation has revealed that the mysterious figure who invested $100 million into Donald Trump’s crypto project, World Liberty Financial, is Bobby Zhou, a person drawing attention for his questionable past.

A new report published by the New York Times has pulled back the curtain on the massive investment made into the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI). According to the report, the control of Aqua 1, the company that funneled $100 million into the project in June 2025, lies with Chinese businessman Guren “Bobby” Zhou, who has been linked to market manipulation allegations in the past. It is stated that this massive fund flow may have earned Donald Trump and his three sons approximately $75 million through revenue-sharing agreements.

Bobby Zhou’s history is filled with many “red flags” in the cryptocurrency world. Zhou, who previously managed the United Arab Emirates operations for the company Web3Port, is accused of conducting illicit market-making activities across various token projects. Transactions carried out through Rentech, which controlled 5% of the MOVE token supply, are particularly noteworthy. It is stated that during this process, approximately 66 million MOVE tokens were sold after being released to the market, generating $38 million in Tether (USDT) revenue.

Questionable Past and Market Manipulation Allegations

Zhou’s connections are not limited to MOVE; he is also alleged to have been involved in similar irregular market movements in projects like GoPlus (GPS) and MyShell (SHELL). The NYT report emphasizes that both the reason why the investor put such a large sum into Trump’s project and the actual source of the funds remain uncertain.

This situation fuels transparency debates and increases questions regarding the ethical dimension of the project. The ability of investors with questionable backgrounds and unknown motivations to transfer such large funds directly into projects linked to political figures highlights the importance of regulatory mechanisms in the cryptocurrency sector once again.