Aqua1 CEO Denies Ties to Web3Port Amid MOVE Crash Fallout—’No Connection’ Claim Sparks Skepticism

Another day, another crypto CEO distancing themselves from a market meltdown. Aqua1's top exec slammed allegations linking the firm to Web3Port—the market maker fingered for the MOVE token's recent nosedive.

Key Details:

- The denial comes as traders sift through wreckage of the MOVE collapse, with some pointing fingers at liquidity mismanagement.

- Web3Port remains under scrutiny after failing to stabilize MOVE's price during last week's 72% flash crash.

- Aqua1 insists it operates independently, though both firms share investors from the same VC cohort.

Bottom Line: In crypto, 'strategic partnerships' vanish faster than a bull market when regulators come knocking. The timing of this denial—just as liquidity questions swirl—reeks of the usual post-crisis reputation laundering.

Independent journalist claims Aqua1 is connected to Web3Port

Speculations about any connection between the two firms surfaced on July 14 when independent journalist Jacob Silverman alleged that Aqua1 co-founder and CEO Dave Lee is the same person as David Jia Hua Li of Web3Port, an acceleration partner for the company.

Silverman claimed that digital footprints suggest a connection between the two projects. He noted that Web3Port and Aqua1 websites are hosted on the same AWS server. The server also hosts the website for  BlockRock, a real-world assets tokenization platform to which Dave Lee is also connected.

Meanwhile, the journalist added that digital footprints suggest that Dave Lee and David Li are the same person, noting that both appear to have graduated from business school in New York and have a finance background.

Although some questioned the likelihood of the connection, particularly the fact that Aqua1 was able to invest $100 million in WLFI, Silverman argued that this is why the whole transaction is worth investigating, as it suggests corruption.

However, Lee claimed in an earlier post that Aqua1 has been working behind the scenes with WLF for a while now and is only becoming public with the $100 million investment in the crypto project.

WLFI set to become tradable with ongoing vote

Meanwhile, the controversy around Aqua1 investment in WLF is only one of the many controversies that have trailed crypto projects connected to President Trump. For instance, Bloomberg recently claimed in a story that  Binance was involved in creating USD1, the stablecoin launched by WLF a few months ago.

The story suggested that the creation of USD1 and its use in the funding of $2 billion investment by the UAE sovereign fund into Binance might be connected with recent efforts by Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao’s application for a presidential pardon.

Zhao has since debunked the claims, describing them as false and misinformation and attributing them to a competitor in the industry.

Despite the speculations, World Liberty Financial continues expanding its offerings. The project, which already has a stablecoin and is working on RWA, recently launched a proposal to make its token WLFI tradable months after it initially launched.

The majority of token holders appear to support the proposal, with 99.94% of votes cast being for enabling tradability for the token. Voting started on July 9 and is set to end by July 16.

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