Trump's family-backed crypto firm courts Pakistan: What's in it for both?

World Liberty Financial, owned by Trump family, partners with Pakistan Crypto Council to boost blockchain adoption and DeFi integration

Pakistan on Sunday welcomed top executives from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm majority-owned by the family of US President Donald J Trump.

 

The company, a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform with 60 per cent ownership by the Trump family, signed a letter of intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council. The agreement signals growing interest of Pakistan to support the country’s growing blockchain sector.

 

According to the local daily Dawn, the World Liberty delegation — Zachary Folkman, Chase Herro, and Zachary Witkoff — met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, and other senior officials in Islamabad.

 

 

The agreement focuses on expanding blockchain technology, stablecoin adoption, and DeFi integration across Pakistan. A press release cited by Dawn described the deal as “a major step toward positioning Pakistan as a global leader in the digital finance revolution” and enhancing “Pakistan’s position as one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world.”

 

The letter was signed in the presence of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb (via video call), Pakistan Crypto Council CEO Bilal Bin Saqib, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and the Governor of the State Bank. 

 

Trump’s business interests blur with politics 

The partnership comes amid rising scrutiny of Donald Trump's financial ventures. According to The New York Times, World Liberty Financial highlights a deepening overlap between Trump’s political role and private business dealings.

 

“Mr Trump’s return to the White House has opened lucrative new pathways for him to cash in on his power, whether through his social media company or new overseas real estate deals,” The New York Times reported.

 

“But none of the Trump family’s other business endeavours pose conflicts of interest that compare to those that have emerged since the birth of World Liberty. The firm, largely owned by a Trump family corporate entity, has erased centuries-old presidential norms, eviscerating the boundary between private enterprise and government policy in a manner without precedent in modern American history,” it added.

 

Trump-linked firm struck secretive token deals 

Founded in 2024, World Liberty approached smaller crypto startups with offers to purchase between 10 million and 30 million dollars-worth of tokens. In return, these startups would give back a smaller portion of their own currency.

 

According to The New York Times, World Liberty retained most of the funds, sometimes applying premiums of up to 20 per cent. These deals were kept confidential.

 

The Trump-affiliated entity DT Marks DEFI LLC owns 60 per cent of WLF Holdco LLC, the parent company of World Liberty, and is entitled to 75 per cent of certain token revenue.

 

Donald Trump holds the title of Chief Crypto Advocate. His sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, are listed as Web3 Ambassadors, while his youngest son, Barron Trump, is named the platform’s DeFi Visionary. 

 

Pakistan’s crypto ambitions take shape 

With the backing of World Liberty and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, the Pakistan Crypto Council aims to position the country as the crypto capital of South Asia, challenging established hubs like the UAE.

 

According to 2024 data from Chainalysis, Pakistan ranked ninth worldwide in crypto adoption, with an estimated 25 million users and 300 billion dollars in annual transaction volume. India took the top spot. 

Council CEO Bin Saqib told Bloomberg that Pakistan is taking a more open approach to crypto regulation, contrasting it with India’s tighter tax laws. “We’ve seen this mistake before. India putting 30 per cent tax on their crypto trades drastically reduced the exchange volume, our approach will be different,” he said. 

However, Indian officials remain cautious. A government adviser told The Economic Times, “Middle East countries are already a bypass route for many Indian investors to trade using VPN and evade taxes.

 

“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,” the Indian government advisor maintained. 

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Big money, bigger concerns 

In October 2024, World Liberty raised 300 million dollars by selling 20 billion WLFI tokens at 0.015 dollars each. It now plans to launch $1, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and backed by US Treasuries and similar assets.

 

To boost liquidity and support its US expansion, World Liberty secured a $25 million investment from DWF Labs, a Dubai-based market maker.

 

Earlier this month, the company’s founders also met with Binance’s Changpeng Zhao in Abu Dhabi. Zhao recently completed a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to crypto fraud.

 

Major investors in World Liberty include: 

- Justin Sun, founder of Tron, who invested 75 million dollars in WLFI tokens. He was previously sued by the Biden administration, though the case was paused in February for a possible resolution.

 

- Arthur Hayes, founder of Ethena, sentenced to six months of home detention, but received a pardon last month.

 

- Ondo Finance, which sold 130,000 coins to World Liberty and later donated 1 million dollars to Trump’s inauguration. The company is backed by Trump supporter Peter Thiel, a close associate of Elon Musk.

 

In February, Eric Trump posted on X: “In my opinion, it's a great time to add $ETH.” He later deleted the follow-up line: “You can thank me later.” 

In March, US President Donald Trump announced plans to create a US Crypto Reserve made up of Bitcoin and Ethereum. And just a week before World Liberty unveiled USD1, the US Senate introduced legislation to support the legal use of stablecoins, raising fresh questions about potential links between public policy and Trump’s business interests.  

     ALSO READ: Explained: Donald Trump's Crypto Strategic Reserve move & its implications