Pakistan to explore stablecoin use in cross-border digital payments

Dubai: Pakistan’s federal government has signed a memorandum of understanding with SC Financial Technologies LLC, an affiliate of World Liberty Financial, to explore the potential use of World Liberty’s dollar-linked stablecoin in cross-border transactions.

The agreement was announced on Wednesday by the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA), which said the MoU aims to support technical engagement and policy-level discussions on emerging digital payment systems.

According to the authority, the partnership will focus on “dialogue and technical understanding around emerging digital payment architectures,” including cross-border settlement mechanisms.

The announcement coincided with a visit to Pakistan by Zach Witkoff, co-founder and chief executive of World Liberty Financial and son of US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

During the visit, Witkoff met with Pakistani government officials and industry stakeholders to discuss approaches to secure and compliant digital payment infrastructure, as well as developments in cross-border settlement and foreign exchange processes.

In a statement, PVARA said the engagement reflects growing international interest in Pakistan’s digital finance sector and its regulatory framework.

The authority said the MoU builds on earlier engagement between Pakistan and World Liberty Financial, including a Letter of Intent signed in April with the Pakistan Crypto Council, led by chief executive Bilal Bin Saqib, to support knowledge-sharing on emerging financial technologies.

Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government’s engagement with international digital finance firms is aimed at understanding new financial models while aligning innovation with regulation and financial stability.

PVARA said Pakistan has recently taken steps to formalise its digital asset ecosystem. On December 12, the authority issued No Objection Certificates to Binance and HTX, allowing both platforms to begin the process of local incorporation.

The authority said the approvals were completed in under five months. It added that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and TRON founder Justin Sun have also visited Pakistan as part of discussions on the country’s evolving digital asset and regulatory framework.

PVARA said Pakistan is drawing attention from global digital finance firms due to factors that include high remittance inflows, growth in digital payments, and a large base of digital asset users.

The authority said the government’s regulation-focused approach has positioned Pakistan as a market under observation in the development of digital finance and cross-border payment technologies.