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Amidst the ongoing India-Pakistan tensions, Pakistan is wooing a cryptocurrency firm predominantly controlled by US President Donald Trump’s family.
World Liberty Financial, a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform with 60% Trump family ownership, has entered into preliminary agreements with Pakistan Crypto Council to enhance blockchain technology implementation in India’s neighbouring nation, according to an ET report.
This development occurred merely five days after a terrorist incident in Pahalgam claimed 26 tourist lives, leading to heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, nearly resulting in military confrontation. India has identified two of the three attackers as Pakistani nationals, though Pakistan has rejected these claims.
According to Dawn newspaper, the World Liberty delegation, comprising Zachary Folkman, Chase Herro and Zachary Witkoff, held meetings with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief General Asim Munir.
Inside World Liberty Forum
The newspaper reported that World Liberty Financial formalised a “Letter of Intent with Pakistan Crypto Council to accelerate blockchain innovation, stablecoin adoption and decentralised finance integration across Pakistan.”
A Trump-linked organisation, DT Marks DEFI LLC, maintains a significant 60% ownership stake in WLF Holdco LLC, World Liberty’s parent company. The arrangement grants them 75% of specified revenue streams from cryptocurrency transactions.
In this venture, the US President holds the position of ‘Chief Crypto Advocate’, whilst his offspring maintain prominent roles. Eric and Donald Jr serve as ‘Web3 Ambassadors’, and his youngest son, Barron, occupies the position of ‘DeFi Visionary’.
Also Read | With Indus Waters Treaty suspended, Modi government looks to expedite five major J&K hydroelectric power projects
The agreement represented a significant advancement in establishing Pakistan as a frontrunner in digital finance innovation and would strengthen its standing as one of the world’s rapidly expanding cryptocurrency markets, the financial daily’s report said.
With support from Trump and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, the Pakistan Crypto Council aims to establish the nation as South Asia’s cryptocurrency hub, competing with markets such as the UAE. This initiative would likely receive Trump’s endorsement, particularly as nations including Switzerland, Australia and South Korea have declined to establish a cryptocurrency national reserve.
Chainalysis data from 2024 indicates Pakistan ranked ninth in cryptocurrency adoption, recording 25 million active users and $300 billion in yearly transactions. India maintained the top position.
The council’s leader, Bin Saqib, announced last month that Pakistan would adopt a more permissive stance towards cryptocurrency legitimisation, whilst criticising India’s 30% taxation on trades. “We’ve seen this mistake before. India putting 30% tax on their crypto trades drastically reduced the exchange volume, our approach will be different,” he told Bloomberg.
Indian policy advisers noted that India’s decision to tax cryptocurrency without legal recognition has created opportunities for unlawful trading.
“Middle East countries are already a bypass route for many Indian investors to trade using VPN and evade taxes,” said one adviser. “If new offshore and cost-effective exchanges start emerging in Pakistan, a lot of our trading activity can shift there. The larger worry for national security is Indians’ financial data falling into the hands of Pakistani entities.”
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