When Trump Praised Islamabad Over New Delhi, It Wasn’t Just Optics—It Was Geopolitics
Islamabad is no longer treating digital assets as a speculative sideshow; it is weaving them into the constitutional fabric of energy, trade, governance, and diplomacy. The payoff is already visible: surging U.S. goodwill, global headlines, and a quiet but decisive shift in the South-Asian balance of power.

Laying the Tracks Years Before the Headlines

• March 2023: Avanza Group launches Pakistan’s first national-grade, blockchain-based eKYC platform, hard-wiring compliance and digital identity into the state.

• December 2023: Invoicemate pilots private credit on the XDC Network, proving that SMEs can collateralise invoices and digitise trade flows.
  These two quiet milestones gave Islamabad the rails on which to run an audacious national strategy.

Eight Months of Legal, Institutional and Energy Lego-Building

1. The 2025 Virtual Assets Ordinance – births PVARA (Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority), a full-spectrum licensing and supervision body.

2. Central Bank Digital Currency Pilot – State Bank of Pakistan now expects to roll out the digital rupee within this fiscal year.

3. Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) – chaired by the Finance Minister, led day-to-day by CEO Bilal Bin Saqib, and advised by Binance founder CZ.

4. 2 GW Power-to-Hash Strategy – 2 000 MW of surplus electricity will be funnelled into Bitcoin mining and AI data centres, underwritten by a sovereign strategic-Bitcoin reserve. Abu Dhabi’s Phoenix Group is already eyeing the tariff incentives.

5. Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) – the cross-ministry coordinator for national digital identity, tokenisation sandboxes, and state-backed digital-economy programmes.

6. World Liberty Financial (WLFI) MoU – the Trump-linked DeFi platform signed a framework with PCC in April 2025 to embed stable-coin settlement, tokenised asset corridors, and a joint regulatory sandbox. The Abu Dhabi photo-op between WLFI’s founders and CZ was not accidental.

These are not isolated regulatory boxes; they are interlocking pieces of economic and geostrategic infrastructure.

Washington’s Deliberate Embrace

• Pakistan receives tariff cuts on textiles, IT, and agriculture, plus access to U.S. petroleum reserves and joint digital-asset ventures.

• India faces a 25 % tariff (rising to 50 % by end-August) for buying discounted Russian oil. Islamabad’s effective tariff rate (~19 %) suddenly makes it the preferred export hub.
  The message is blunt: align with Washington’s priorities, get rewarded; hedge toward Moscow, get punished.

India’s Strategic Hesitation—and Rising Costs
New Delhi still treats crypto as a high-tax casino, not as critical infrastructure. While it pushes UPI and ONDC, it keeps digital assets outside the strategic frame. The bill is now coming due:

• U.S. tariffs could shave 0.3–0.6 % off Indian GDP.

• A stubborn tilt toward Russia and multi-polar finance unsettles Quad partners.
  Pakistan, by contrast, has moved faster on regulation and faster on political alignment, making itself the easier—and more attractive—ally.

Pakistan’s Four New Revenue and Leverage Streams

1. Capital Magnet – crystal-clear licensing plus marquee global advisers turns the country into a hub for exchanges, custodians, and tokenisation shops.

2. Energy Monetisation – idle megawatts become a balance-sheet asset via mining and AI compute.

3. Remittance & Trade Rails – CBDC pilots and licensed stable-coin rails promise to cut the cost of $30 bn in annual remittances.

4. Diplomatic Currency – crypto policy itself becomes a bargaining chip in U.S.–Pakistan negotiations.

Crypto as Grand Strategy
This is no longer an industry story; it is statecraft. By rewarding Pakistan’s cooperation, Trump tightens the screws on India’s independent streak—especially its discounted Russian-oil trade and flirtation with de-dollarisation. Digital assets serve both symbolic and utilitarian roles in this balancing act.

Islamabad’s willingness to embed crypto in national strategy has bought it room and favour. New Delhi’s hesitation has left it exposed to tariffs and pressure. The open question is whether Pakistan’s digital-asset pivot becomes durable infrastructure or remains a tactical artefact of current geopolitical competition.

Either way, cryptocurrency in South Asia has graduated from sector play to statecraft—and the regional balance of power is shifting accordingly.

When Trump Praised Islamabad Over New Delhi, It Wasn’t Just Optics—It Was Geopolitics
Islamabad is no longer treating digital assets as a speculative sideshow; it is weaving them into the constitutional fabric of energy, trade, governance, and diplomacy. The payoff is already visible: surging U.S. goodwill, global headlines, and a quiet but decisive shift in the South-Asian balance of power.

Laying the Tracks Years Before the Headlines

• March 2023: Avanza Group launches Pakistan’s first national-grade, blockchain-based eKYC platform, hard-wiring compliance and digital identity into the state.

• December 2023: Invoicemate pilots private credit on the XDC Network, proving that SMEs can collateralise invoices and digitise trade flows.
  These two quiet milestones gave Islamabad the rails on which to run an audacious national strategy.

Eight Months of Legal, Institutional and Energy Lego-Building

1. The 2025 Virtual Assets Ordinance – births PVARA (Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority), a full-spectrum licensing and supervision body.

2. Central Bank Digital Currency Pilot – State Bank of Pakistan now expects to roll out the digital rupee within this fiscal year.

3. Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) – chaired by the Finance Minister, led day-to-day by CEO Bilal Bin Saqib, and advised by Binance founder CZ.

4. 2 GW Power-to-Hash Strategy – 2 000 MW of surplus electricity will be funnelled into Bitcoin mining and AI data centres, underwritten by a sovereign strategic-Bitcoin reserve. Abu Dhabi’s Phoenix Group is already eyeing the tariff incentives.

5. Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) – the cross-ministry coordinator for national digital identity, tokenisation sandboxes, and state-backed digital-economy programmes.

6. World Liberty Financial (WLFI) MoU – the Trump-linked DeFi platform signed a framework with PCC in April 2025 to embed stable-coin settlement, tokenised asset corridors, and a joint regulatory sandbox. The Abu Dhabi photo-op between WLFI’s founders and CZ was not accidental.

These are not isolated regulatory boxes; they are interlocking pieces of economic and geostrategic infrastructure.

Washington’s Deliberate Embrace

• Pakistan receives tariff cuts on textiles, IT, and agriculture, plus access to U.S. petroleum reserves and joint digital-asset ventures.

• India faces a 25 % tariff (rising to 50 % by end-August) for buying discounted Russian oil. Islamabad’s effective tariff rate (~19 %) suddenly makes it the preferred export hub.
  The message is blunt: align with Washington’s priorities, get rewarded; hedge toward Moscow, get punished.

India’s Strategic Hesitation—and Rising Costs
New Delhi still treats crypto as a high-tax casino, not as critical infrastructure. While it pushes UPI and ONDC, it keeps digital assets outside the strategic frame. The bill is now coming due:

• U.S. tariffs could shave 0.3–0.6 % off Indian GDP.

• A stubborn tilt toward Russia and multi-polar finance unsettles Quad partners.
  Pakistan, by contrast, has moved faster on regulation and faster on political alignment, making itself the easier—and more attractive—ally.

Pakistan’s Four New Revenue and Leverage Streams

1. Capital Magnet – crystal-clear licensing plus marquee global advisers turns the country into a hub for exchanges, custodians, and tokenisation shops.

2. Energy Monetisation – idle megawatts become a balance-sheet asset via mining and AI compute.

3. Remittance & Trade Rails – CBDC pilots and licensed stable-coin rails promise to cut the cost of $30 bn in annual remittances.

4. Diplomatic Currency – crypto policy itself becomes a bargaining chip in U.S.–Pakistan negotiations.

Crypto as Grand Strategy
This is no longer an industry story; it is statecraft. By rewarding Pakistan’s cooperation, Trump tightens the screws on India’s independent streak—especially its discounted Russian-oil trade and flirtation with de-dollarisation. Digital assets serve both symbolic and utilitarian roles in this balancing act.

Islamabad’s willingness to embed crypto in national strategy has bought it room and favour. New Delhi’s hesitation has left it exposed to tariffs and pressure. The open question is whether Pakistan’s digital-asset pivot becomes durable infrastructure or remains a tactical artefact of current geopolitical competition.

Either way, cryptocurrency in South Asia has graduated from sector play to statecraft—and the regional balance of power is shifting accordingly.