US picks Pakistan over India in Crypto power play

Pakistan seems to be in a hurry to become a crypto hotspot in Asia. It recently announced its deal with World Liberty Finance, a crypto venture that is said to be owned by the Donald Trump family. The deal between Pakistan’s crypto council and World Liberty Finance has raised arguments, as the council was formed a few months ago and has been closing deals with high-profile individual-owned businesses. Experts criticise the timing of the deal, as recently both nations have mirrored the war situation with reported firing of missiles and drones. International media reported that the major role of Steven Charles Witkoff, Donald Trump’s golf buddy, was behind this deal, which aimed to strengthen Pakistan’s decentralized blockchain and crypto infrastructure. It is worth noting that the deal was in the pipeline since Zachary Witkoff, the son of Donald Buddy Steven Charles Witkoff. Zachary was seen in Pakistan in April this year with Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro. What’s the message behind the crypto deal after the Ceasefire with India? Soon after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a deal in Pakistan’s digital assets sector has stirred sentiments, with a few raising speculations of Pakistan reaching a user base of 27.01 million crypto users by 2025 end. In the past few years, Pakistan has established itself as one of the prominent exporters of textiles, including cotton, leather goods, and apparel. With its growing trade, its crypto market has also flourished, and in 2024 Pakistan crypto market was valued at $20 billion, which is expected to reach above $40 billion by the end of 2025. However Indian crypto market is consistently competing with other markets, and as per data from Chainalysis, it is one of the 1st nations to be the top of crypto adoption for the 2nd consecutive time in 2025. Some major reasons behind the U.S. embracing the Pakistani crypto market are affordability, as India has a bigger export unit and also imposes competitive tariffs on fellow countries. Not only Asian nations but, the U.S has sidelined other nations after its recent deal with the UAE and some other nations. Back-to-back changes in policy mirror the United States’ long-term approach along ‘ U.S First’. Market watchers argue that, after hand-to-hand with China in tariffs now, the U.S is trying to suppress the flourishing market in India by restricting firms and companies from establishing operations in India. Most recently, CNBC reported that Mr. President said in a conference in the UAE that he had a talk with Tim Cook, the Chief Executive Officer of Apple, about setting up manufacturing units in India. Why did the U.S choose Pakistan to make it a crypto hub in Asia? The global is aware of the information that over dozens of terrorist organisations have been based in Pakistan, and one of the most wanted terrorists, Osama bin Laden, was also based in its territories. Laden was killed by the Army of the United States in Abbottabad Pakistan on May 02, 2011, for this Operation Neptune Spear was launched in retaliation of September 11 attacks in Pakistan. With involvement in terrorism spreading, Pakistan also has a deep history of money laundering, and now its move to embrace crypto is seen under the lens to fund ISIS and other similar organisations. On the other hand, experts are saying that funding Pakistan by different means is creating an opportunity for the U.S to establish its spot in Asia to dominate over China and India , including others. The United States knows this clearly that Pakistan is one of the struggling economies in the world, and helping it in any monetary way will help the U.S to prepare a good puppet for them. After the appointment of Trump for the 2nd as the president of the U.S, the nation has changed its stance on crypto and is known as one of the biggest digital asset markets. His appointment has given a clear path for nations like Pakistan to announce a crypto council, which has appointed the previously jailed Chief Executive Officer of Binance, Changpeng Zhao.