Pakistan Signed MoU With U.S. Stablecoin Firm to Explore Cross-Border Payments

Pakistan's Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding in January 2026 with SC Financial Technologies, an affiliate of World Liberty Financial, to explore the use of its USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir attended the signing in Islamabad.

Zach Witkoff signed on behalf of SC Financial Technologies with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

World Liberty Financial brought President Donald Trump more than $500 million from token sales in 2025. As of early July 2026, Pakistani officials said no pilot project using USD1 had been launched, no licences had been issued and no transactions using the stablecoin were known. Pakistan ranked third globally on the Chainalysis crypto adoption index in 2025.

The country received $38.3 billion in remittances in the last financial year, a 27 percent increase, and a record $4.25 billion in May 2026. The State Bank of Pakistan expects remittances to exceed $42 billion in 2026. Pakistan's central bank held $16.5 billion in reserves in late June 2026.

The Virtual Assets Act, passed in March 2026, created the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, which can impose prison sentences of up to five years for operating without approval. In April 2026 the State Bank cleared banks to open accounts for licensed crypto firms. As of early July, PVARA was still accepting only preliminary applications and full licensing rules had not been published.

Binance and HTX received no-objection certificates and are registered but not yet authorised to operate. A World Liberty Financial delegation first arrived in Islamabad in April 2025. Pakistan nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in June 2025.