Published: 02:30 PM, 16 November 2025
US crypto pivot to Pakistan
Photo: APP
President Trump’s second term in office has marked a distinct evolution in US foreign policy, one increasingly shaped by the complex interweaving of presidential personal interests and new financial paradigms rooted in cryptocurrency.
The most telling arena for this shift is the recalibration of Washington’s approach toward Pakistan, a country once viewed predominantly through the lens of security and counterterrorism, but now front and centre in Trump’s vision for World Liberty Financial, a global economic ecosystem pivoting on digital assets and alternative finance mechanisms. Central to this transformation is the increasing alignment between President Trump’s commercial background and policy formation. Trump’s real estate empire and network of financial interests have never been completely divorced from his governing style; his willingness to openly champion policies that blend personal branding with national strategy is well documented. This admixture became more pronounced during his reelection campaign and subsequent policy directions, especially regarding the international expansion of American financial influence through novel tools like cryptocurrency.
Under Trump, the embrace of digital currencies, most notably, the drive to establish the World Liberty Financial platform, has taken on strategic importance. The platform aims to empower American entrepreneurs, facilitate international investment and bypass traditional banking chokepoints. In this context, Pakistan emerges as an unexpected but crucial partner. Data from the Pakistan Software Export Board and international blockchain indices indicate that Pakistan is among the world’s top five markets for cryptocurrency adoption, a phenomenon accelerated by government support for fintech, large-scale diaspora remittances and a burgeoning youth demographic eager for financial innovation. According to Chainalysis, Pakistan’s crypto adoption rate was 711% between 2021 and 2023, with more than $25 billion in transactions annually. The Trump Administration’s pivot towards Pakistan is thus far more than a matter of diplomatic expediency or regional power balance. It exemplifies a personal interest in fostering international environments where American-rooted crypto ventures can thrive. The president’s inclination toward direct dealmaking, sidestepping conventional bureaucratic structures, has found a natural synergy in Pakistan. The country’s regulatory environment, while sometimes opaque, is notably more receptive to experimental financial products than established Western markets. Officials at the State Bank of Pakistan have signaled openness to incorporating blockchain into national payment systems, with pilot programs testing digital rupee concepts projected to launch by 2026.
This entanglement has not gone unnoticed internationally. European Union policymakers and other strategists have voiced concerns that Trump’s approach to relying on cryptocurrencies as tools of statecraft poses governance and security risks. The capacity for rapid, anonymous transfers heightens fears about illicit finance, state-sanctioned sanctions evasion and the undermining of AML frameworks. Reports from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rate Pakistan as a “jurisdiction under increased monitoring,” with crypto flows complicating oversight and enforcement mechanisms. Nonetheless, the Trump Administration remains steadfast. By embracing digital assets and alternative payment systems, particularly through platforms like World Liberty Financial, the US can restore economic primacy without resorting to military interventions or deep treaty entanglements. In a 2025 White House briefing, President Trump described Pakistan as a “key partnership incubator for new digital freedoms,” underscoring not only the commercial logic but the ideological appeal of using crypto to champion free-market principles abroad .
The economic results of this policy pivot are already discernible. Bilateral trade between the United States and Pakistan has increased by 11% in the first half of 2025, with mobile payments and crypto-linked remittances accounting for over $1.2 billion in value transfer, three times higher than in 2023, according to internal Commerce Department estimates. Pakistani fintech firms, several backed by American venture capital, have expanded operations into the Gulf and Southeast Asia, benefiting from reduced transaction costs and expanded interoperability. For the Trump Administration, these gains validate the centrality of digital finance in contemporary diplomacy. Yet skepticism persists. Congressional oversight committees have launched inquiries into the nature and beneficiaries of US-Pakistan financial agreements, with particular attention on individuals and companies in the president’s orbit. NGOs such as Transparency International argue that the lack of robust congressional scrutiny and independent auditing risks conflating national and personal priorities, exposing US policy to charges of self-dealing.
Nevertheless, the strategic calculus for Trump remains unchanged. The President continues to frame World Liberty Financial as the vanguard for a new era of American global leadership, one measured not solely by traditional metrics of influence but by mastery of digital liquidity, cross-border empowerment and economic agility. This philosophy dovetails with broader trends in international relations, where soft power increasingly flows through technological and financial channels rather than strictly through force or rhetoric. As US foreign policy under President Trump increasingly pivots toward Pakistan and new modes of engagement centered on crypto assets, it embodies a convergence of private entrepreneurial vision and state ambition. The data point to real economic shifts; the diplomatic optics attract both admiration and suspicion; and the underlying motivations, shaped as much by personal as national interests, ensure that this policy approach may remain contentious for years to come or may prove to be fruitful financial decision. (By, Assadullah Channa)
>> Source : Pakistan Observer
