Cryptocurrency playing key role in drawing Trump closer to Pakistan: Report

New Delhi, Nov 11 US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is increasingly shaped by his personal interest in cryptocurrency which has led to “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,” according to an article in the Pakistan Observer newspaper.

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 re-election campaign and subsequent policy directions, especially regarding the international expansion of American financial influence through novel tools like cryptocurrency, the article states.

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, the article further states.

Data from the Pakistan Software Export Board and international blockchain indices indicates 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 per cent 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, the article points out.

The highlights that even 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.

The economic results of this policy pivot are already discernible. Bilateral trade between the United States and Pakistan has increased by 11 per cent 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, the article points out.

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 have also highlighted this aspect, the article further states.

“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,” the article added.

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