ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s crypto deal with a World Liberty Financial affiliate has produced no known stablecoin pilot, licences or transactions, but analysts said it gave Islamabad access to the Trump administration.
The Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding in January with SC Financial Technologies, an affiliate of World Liberty Financial. To explore the use of its USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir attended the signing ceremony in Islamabad.
Zach Witkoff, son of Trump adviser Steve Witkoff, signed the agreement with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
World Liberty Financial raised more than $500 million for US President Donald Trump through token sales in 2025, according to financial earnings.
Pakistan ranked third globally in Chainalysis’ crypto adoption index last year, behind India and the United States.
The State Bank of Pakistan reported $38.3 billion in remittances in the last financial year, a 27 percent increase from the previous year. It expects remittances to cross $42 billion this year.
Read: Pakistan Crypto Regulation Test Begins with PVARA
The Virtual Assets Act, passed in March, created the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to license crypto firms.
A senior banking executive told Al Jazeera the MoU was exploratory and involved technical dialogue and knowledge-sharing, with no commitment to deploy a specific stablecoin.
Karachi-based economist Khurram Husain said the MoU served as an “instrument of access” and helped Islamabad gain access to the Trump White House.
