Crypto council chief rebuts India’s accusations of swaying global powers

KARACHI: Head of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) Bilal Bin Saqib has pushed back against claims that the country is using its growing digital finance presence to sway global powers, calling such outreach “diplomacy, not influence” and reaffirming the council’s commitment to empowering the country’s young, freelancers and startups.

In his interview with Geo.tv on Friday, Saqib was asked about India’s accusations that Pakistan is using its tech industry to influence global powers. Saqib said that any country would envy and criticise the other nation’s rather fast ascent to success. He said that Pakistan’s meeting with former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is just the start and that the country will reach out to several more global leaders to strengthen its position and to help its youth.

Criticism from certain segments in India has gained momentum after US President Donald Trump took credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan a few hours after Pakistan launched military Operation Bunyanun Marsoos in retaliation to India’s strikes.

Indian media outlets now allege that Pakistan’s growing global engagement in the digital finance space -- particularly through the PCC’s recent outreach -- amounts to an attempt to buy influence with Western powers, including Trump. A recent report published in ‘Economic Times’ links the PCC’s deal with World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm co-founded by Zach Witkoff, whose father Steve Witkoff serves as Trump’s Middle East envoy, to Trump’s recent favourable remarks about Pakistan. It further suggests that business interests tied to the Trump family may have influenced US diplomatic positioning during the recent standoff.

In an apparent extension to India’s allegations, the US-based outlet The Wall Street Journal also reported a growing intersection between Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts and private crypto ventures linked to figures close to Trump, particularly involving WLF. The Journal suggests that WLF’s growing footprint in Pakistan may have dovetailed with broader efforts by Islamabad to secure diplomatic goodwill under the new Trump administration.

In their separate posts on X (formerly Twitter,) co-founder of WLF Zak Folkman and former Binance CEO Zhao rejected allegations published in the Journal, calling the report “fiction” and “politically charged”.

Folkman said the company’s engagement in Pakistan was purely private-sector and unrelated to US government affairs. He clarified that co-founder Steve Witkoff is divesting from WLF and holds no operational role. Claims that Zhao acted as a ‘fixer’ for WLFI were also dismissed by both men as false.

Zhao said the report reflects broader hostility towards the crypto sector.

Pakistan in March formed the PCC to bring transparency and stability to the crypto sector. In April, the country appointed Zhao as a strategic adviser to the PCC, a move largely lauded by experts.

This week, the Ministry of Finance announced the formation of the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA), a dedicated body tasked with overseeing blockchain infrastructure and the regulation of virtual assets.