On May 23, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had flown to the UAE to discuss regional issues and participate in a crypto-themed conference a month before Trump's inauguration. Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff and founder of World Liberty Financial, has compared Mr. Trump to a "godfather" in his pitch to cryptocurrency companies, saying the WLFI will be able to take advantage of changing US cryptocurrency regulations. Zach Witkoff met with senior government figures in Pakistan - who were negotiating the India-Pakistan ceasefire with the Trump administration weeks later. Zach Witkoff suggested to them that the WLFI could use blockchain technology to "tokenize" the buying and selling of rare earth minerals in the country. A WLFI spokesperson said that Binance founder CZ was just a friend of Zach Witkoff, but not a "middleman". The WLFI team has also discussed token purchases with other companies in the Gulf region, suggesting that such deals could help their expansion plans in the US, a company spokesperson denied.