High-level partnership with U.S.-based World Liberty Financial deepens financial entanglement between Islamabad and Washington
Pakistan’s unprecedented crypto partnership with a Trump-linked U.S. firm gives General Asim Munir strategic insulation, as critics question the political and financial implications of the pact.
In a move that has sparked diplomatic and regulatory shockwaves, Pakistan’s military leadership appears to have secured unprecedented strategic insulation through a crypto agreement involving a firm tied to former U.S. President Donald Trump. The deal has thrust Pakistan deeper into the global digital finance arena—while also tightening its financial interlinkage with Washington.
The development centres on the launch of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) on 14 March 2025. Created under the Ministry of Finance, the PCC was positioned as a body to regulate and promote the digital asset ecosystem in Pakistan. Its founding CEO, Bilal Bin Saqib, a UK-based entrepreneur and social media figure, was swiftly elevated to the position of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Blockchain and Crypto, with the status of Minister of State.
Barely a month after its formation, the PCC signed a Letter of Intent between 26 and 27 April with World Liberty Financial (WLF)—a Delaware-based cryptocurrency firm that is majority-controlled by the Trump family. The agreement outlined a vast and ambitious collaboration: integrating WLF’s USD1 stablecoin into Pakistan’s financial infrastructure, tokenising national assets, and establishing a national DeFi sandbox for decentralised financial experiments.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the agreement was signed despite the PCC lacking legislative approval and possessing no regulatory authority under Pakistani law. Notably, cryptocurrency remains illegal under current State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) directives.
Nevertheless, the WLF delegation—led by co-founders Zachary Folkman and Zachary Witkoff—was granted extraordinary access to Pakistan’s top power brokers. Meetings were held with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad, SECP Chairman Akif Saeed, and most significantly, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.
General Munir’s participation has raised the most eyebrows. The Pakistan Army has no formal jurisdiction over the nation’s financial or crypto policies. His involvement is viewed by analysts as a clear signal that the agreement was driven by strategic considerations, not merely financial or technological innovation.
Sources revealed that the WLF-PCC meetings were arranged by Gulf-based intermediaries with established connections to both the Pakistani military and Trump-affiliated financial channels. The broader implications of the deal are now under intense scrutiny—particularly as it appears to offer a form of political immunity for Munir by financially binding Pakistan to a firm deeply linked with Washington’s former and possibly future political leadership.
Though the full terms of the crypto pact remain undisclosed, its political reverberations are already being felt, as observers question the motivations behind Pakistan’s sudden embrace of a digital finance future—one that appears to serve strategic and personal interests at the highest levels of power.
