As India tries to understand the unexpected enthusiasm of the Second Trump administration to renew relations with Pakistan, the extraordinary developments have garnered ambitious and somewhat surreal cryptocurrency cooperation between Pakistan, a company tied to the Trump family, and the world’s Liberty Financial Inc. (WLFI).
The WLFI, run by Donald Trump’s Children and Zach Witkov, reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last month with the Pakistan Crypto Council, which was formed in March. The WLFI delegation was warmly welcomed in Islamabad and Lahore, with both Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munier taking part. The MOU outlines plans to use blockchain technology to promote financial inclusion, continue untapped domestic assets such as rare earths, introduce steady property for remittances and trade, and position Pakistan as a regional crypto hub.
Given the cool state of Pakistan’s economy, the viability of these plans remains uncertain. But India should pay close attention to Pakistan’s crypto ambitions. In particular, they fund terrorism across borders and wash money because of the possibility of misuse of these digital currencies and not controlled by central banks. But more importantly, the potential changes in the global financial order caused by the Trump administration’s new crypto policy. Cryptocurrency was once dismissed as a financial trend and became a disruptive tool in global finance. Their increased decentralized architecture, rapid innovation, and adoption are restructuring monetary policy, regulatory frameworks, and cross-border economic flows.
During his second term, Trump moved swiftly to reposition the US as a global leader in digital assets. During his campaign, Trump overturned his previous skepticism about the code and pledged to dismantle the hostility of the Biden era to the sector. The crypto industry felt a great opportunity and gathered behind him. Within days of assuming an office, Trump issued two executive orders that reshape America’s crypto strategy. First Order codified the national blockchain innovation strategy, reduced regulatory overreach and banned the development of central bank digital currency (CBDC). It also established a working group of presidents on the digital asset markets, chairing the White House’s “AI and Crypto Czar” to design a new regulatory framework within six months.
The second order created strategic Bitcoin Reserve and US digital asset stockpile to integrate government-excluded crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. The initiative aims to transform digital assets into gold-like national reserves without leveraging taxpayer funds. Trump is trying to ensure sustained control of the US dollar in the international system in supporting legal, dollar-backed stubcoins while explicitly banning CBDCs.
Trump’s appointments include pro-cryptic figures like Elon Musk and Sack – showing major changes in Washington. The Securities and Exchange Commission suspends lawsuits against major exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance, and the Department of Justice has dissolved its crypto enforcement team. The market responded with enthusiasm. Bitcoin surged beyond $74,000 in March 2025, and is valued at over $100,000 this week.
With a personal twist on his crypto strategy, Trump also launched Trump, a mumcoin. Meanwhile, WLFI has reached out to many countries, including Pakistan, for crypto transactions. Until recently, Pakistan showed little interest in cryptocurrency. But that changed dramatically. In early 2025, the government appointed young Pakistani entrepreneur Bilal Bin Saqib, UK, to lead the Pakistan Cryptocourse. This week, Saqib was appointed special advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister and was tasked with creating a regulatory framework to promote the adoption of codes. Estimates suggest that Pakistan could have up to 25 million crypto users and a market worth $2 billion.
Despite its stagnant economy, the undeveloped financial sector and limited technical capabilities, Pakistan appears to be determined to carve out a niche in the emerging crypto world. This strategy includes cultivating high-tech entrepreneurs who act as diaspora in the US, particularly the conduit for the Trump administration. At Pakistan’s first diaspora conference, modeled after India’s Pravasi Bharatiya Diva, Munir reaffirmed the ideological foundation of Pakistan’s state and signaled a reassertment of overseas influence.
The technological influence of the Indian diaspora is well known, but the Pakistani diaspora is now moving its own. It uses cryptography to rekindle Pakistan’s ties with the US. India should not dismiss these developments as insignificant. In the 1970s, Delhi underestimated Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions.
By the late 1980s, Pakistan had developed nuclear weapons and utilized them to create a challenging security environment for India. More urgently, India needs to look back at its own crypto strategy, or its lack of it. There was little public discourse about the geopolitical and technical implications of codes. This lack of government involvement is in contrast to the rise in crypto users in India, estimated to exceed 100 million, with a market size of nearly $7 billion.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court stepped into this violation. When he heard the bail petition of Gujarat resident Shailesh Bhatt, the court, accused of cryptocurrency fraud, stated the Centre’s paradoxical policy of taxing crypto assets without developing a regulatory framework. It warned that cryptocurrency legal and policy gaps will pose serious challenges to India’s economy and security. India no longer has the luxury of ignoring the changing regional and global crypto landscape. Delhi must agree to Pakistan’s new digital pivot and Trump’s plan to remodel the global financial order with crypto and related technologies.
(The author is a distinguished fellow of the Strategic and Defense Research Council and is a contributing editor on international affairs for the Indian Express.)
