In July 2026, US President Donald Trump revealed that his family's crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLF), generated over $500 million from token sales in 2025. This financial success is tied to Pakistan's early partnership with the firm, which aims to explore the use of its dollar-pegged USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments.
In January, Pakistan's Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding with SC Financial Technologies, an affiliate of WLF, in Islamabad. The agreement was attended by key figures including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. However, six months post-signing, no pilot project has been initiated, and no transactions using USD1 have been confirmed.
Pakistan's Crypto Market and the USD1 Stablecoin
Pakistan ranks among the world's largest crypto markets, placing third globally in the Chainalysis crypto adoption index. The country's informal crypto activity predominantly involves Tether's USDT, the largest stablecoin. Despite the anticipated benefits of USD1, there are no indications it has been used in any transactions within Pakistan.
According to a senior banking executive, the lack of reliable estimates regarding the movement of money through these channels poses a challenge. Informal channels are estimated to account for about 10% of remittances, with stablecoins being a part of that figure. In the last financial year, Pakistan received an all-time high of $38.3 billion in remittances, a 27% increase from the previous year.
The Diplomatic Implications of the Agreement
While the utility of USD1 remains uncertain, analysts believe that Pakistan's partnership with WLF has granted it valuable access to the Trump administration. Ibrahim Khalil, a Canada-based banking professional, questions the rationale behind using USD1 when record remittances are flowing through traditional banking channels. He states, “Whatever the reason, [these] people are avoiding the banking channel. USD1 will not solve that issue if banking channels are involved.”
Furthermore, Khalil highlights that unless Pakistan's trading partners accept USD1 directly, the central bank would need to convert the token back into dollars, potentially complicating transactions.
Regulatory Developments in Pakistan's Crypto Landscape
In response to the growing crypto market, Pakistan has established a regulatory framework through the Virtual Assets Act, enacted in March 2026. This act created the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), which is tasked with licensing firms and enforcing compliance.
As of now, PVARA is only accepting preliminary applications, and full licensing rules are yet to be published. Two global exchanges, Binance and HTX, have received no-objection certificates but are not yet authorized to operate. The senior executive emphasized that the memorandum with WLF is exploratory and does not commit to deploying any specific stablecoin.
- $500 million earned by Trump from WLF
- Pakistan's remittances reached $38.3 billion last year
- USD1 stablecoin remains untested in Pakistan
- Virtual Assets Act established PVARA in March 2026
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by Al Jazeera. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
