Pakistan Won Trump Access Despite $500 Million WLF Windfall and Failed USD1 Pilot
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 3
Pakistan Won Trump Access Despite $500 Million WLF Windfall and Failed USD1 Pilot
2 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 3
Summary
Pakistani officials said nearly six months after a January MoU with World Liberty Financial affiliate SC Financial Technologies, there has been no USD1 stablecoin pilot, no licences and no known transactions.
The gap underscores analysts’ view that the deal’s real value was diplomatic: Pakistan gained rare access to Donald Trump’s circle through a venture that delivered him more than $500 million from token sales in 2025.
Questions over the project’s utility have grown as Pakistan already ranks third in global crypto adoption, yet formal remittances hit a record $38.3 billion last fiscal year and the central bank expects more than $42 billion this year.
Pakistan has still built crypto rules quickly — passing the Virtual Assets Act in March and letting banks serve licensed firms in April — but full licensing rules are not yet published and any rollout would still take months.
The MoU fit a broader strategy of courting Washington: Trump hosted army chief Asim Munir in 2025, and US Vice President JD Vance last month credited him with helping broker a US-Iran peace framework.