Pakistan Seeks Bitcoin Wisdom from El Salvador: A Crypto Power Move

In a bold play to turbocharge its crypto ambitions, Pakistan is tapping El Salvador's hard-earned Bitcoin playbook. The developing nation—hungry for economic reinvention—is eyeing decentralized finance as an end-run around legacy financial bottlenecks.

Why El Salvador? The Central American pioneer took the plunge first, adopting Bitcoin as legal tender back in 2021. Now, its battle-tested framework—volcano-powered mining included—is a template for nations betting big on digital assets.

Pakistan's gambit comes as global crypto adoption hits escape velocity. From remittance corridors to inflation hedging, emerging markets are rewriting finance’s rules while Wall Street still debates ETF ticker symbols. One banker’s ‘risk’ is another nation’s lifeline.

The move could spark a domino effect. If Pakistan’s pivot pays off, expect more developing economies to bypass IMF austerity packages for algorithmic monetary policy. After all, why take lectures from the same institutions that miss every recession?

Final thought: When nations start crowdsourcing monetary strategy from Satoshi’s manifesto, it’s either the dawn of a new financial era—or the ultimate indictment of traditional finance. Place your bets.

Pakistan is getting serious about crypto and wants to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps. This week, Bilal Bin Saqib, head of Pakistan’s Crypto Council and special advisor to the prime minister, visited El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to talk about Bitcoin adoption and building stronger crypto ties.

Pakistan Following El Salvador Footsteps

Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council and State Minister for Crypto and Blockchain, recently met El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. After their meeting, Saqib praised Bukele as a “visionary” who backed bitcoin when most world leaders were afraid to. 

Bukele was the first head of state to make Bitcoin legal tender, turning a small country into a symbol of innovation. Despite warnings from big global groups like the IMF, Bukele kept buying Bitcoin for his country.

Just met one of the most extraordinary visionary leaders of our time, President of El Salvador, @nayibbukele

A head of state who doesn’t just talk tech, but challenges it, from AI and robotics to Bitcoin.

He’s a leader from the future, who saw the future first because when it… pic.twitter.com/QpS6vVnTxv

Meanwhile, today, El Salvador holds over 6,089 BTC, worth about $722 million.

New Deal for Crypto Collaboration

During the visit, Saqib and Bukele signed a Letter of Intent to work together. This agreement sets a plan for both countries to share ideas and work on Bitcoin projects. 

For Pakistan, the focus is on using crypto and blockchain to help more people access financial services and grow the digital economy

But Bukele’s vision goes beyond Bitcoin. He is exploring AI, robotics, and emerging tech, proving you don’t need big resources to make a global impact, you need strong belief and bold decision

Pakistan’s Plans Hit IMF Roadblock

Pakistan has already tried to push ahead by using extra power to mine Bitcoin. Earlier this year, the government set aside 2,000 megawatts of spare electricity for crypto mining and AI centers. But the IMF did not support the plan, worried that cheap power for crypto could hurt the wider market.

Recently, during the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, praised Pakistan’s plan to build a national BTC reserve and stepped in to help build it.