Fresh allegations suggest that Donald Trump’s cooling stance toward India during his presidency may have had less to do with geopolitics and more with private financial interests tied to Pakistan’s emerging crypto sector. At the heart of the story is World Liberty Financial(WLFI), a blockchain venture in which Trump and his family reportedly hold major stakes. This is being called ‘crypto diplomacy.’
What is Pakistan’s ‘crypto diplomacy’?
In recent years, Pakistan has sought to leapfrog traditional development hurdles by embracing blockchain and digital assets. Under the guidance of Bilal Bin Saqib, special assistant to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for crypto and AI, Islamabad has pushed ambitious plans:
- Establishing Bitcoin mining infrastructure on state-backed energy grids.
- Launching AI innovation zones.
- Exploring a government Bitcoin reserve to stabilize finances.
Saqib has positioned himself as the face of this “crypto diplomacy,” frequently seen with senior military figures, including Army Chief Gen Asim Munir. His role has been publicly applauded by leaders of WLFI, who praised him as an “A+ gentleman,” a phrase critics argue signals informal alignment between Trump-linked businesses and Pakistan’s crypto ambitions.
Trump family’s alleged crypto ties
Reports claim that the Trump family controls around 60 percent of WLFI and receives the bulk of its token revenue, estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The project’s ownership remains opaque, but if true, this would give Trump and his sons a strong financial incentive to cultivate relationships in countries keen to adopt crypto at scale.
A key moment came when Saqib reportedly met Robert “Bo” Hines, a Trump-aligned crypto advisor, at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas. There, Pakistan showcased its digital ambitions to a global investor audience.
For Islamabad, the strategy is about positioning itself in a new financial order. For Trump’s circle, critics suggest, it may have been about unlocking lucrative private gains—potentially at the expense of traditional US alliances.
Was India sidelined for business reasons?
India had been deepening trade and defense ties with the US until 2017. Expectations were that Trump, like his predecessors, would continue strengthening the partnership. Instead, his administration imposed some of the harshest tariffs on India, despite India ranking only 10th on America’s trade deficit list.
This puzzled observers at the time. The recent claims—that Pakistan’s crypto ventures overlapped with Trump family interests—offer one explanation. By warming up to Islamabad, Trump may have sought to align policy with business opportunities rather than strategic calculus.
Jake Sullivan’s warning
Former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan weighed in directly on the issue. In an interview with MeidasTouch, he said:
“In no small part, I think because of Pakistan’s willingness to do business deals with the Trump family, he has thrown the India relationship over the side. That is a huge strategic harm in its own right.”
Sullivan’s remarks are striking because they frame Trump’s private business ventures—not statecraft—as a driver of US foreign policy choices.
What we know—and what remains unclear
It’s important to separate documented facts from claims:
- Verified: Bilal Bin Saqib holds an official crypto advisory role in Pakistan and has met both military leaders and Trump-linked crypto advisors. WLFI leaders have praised him publicly.
- Alleged: The Trump family’s precise stake in WLFI and whether those profits influenced tariffs or foreign policy decisions. WLFI’s financials and ownership remain opaque.
- Unproven: A direct causal link between Trump’s crypto ties and his anti-India tariffs.
Still, the timelines overlap: WLFI’s rise, Saqib’s elevation, Munir’s US outreach, and Trump’s tariff offensive against India. Even if circumstantial, the narrative is strong enough to fuel suspicion.
Why this matters for India, the US, and Pakistan
- For India: If Trump’s policies were driven by private deals, not strategy, New Delhi may need to prepare for further volatility in US ties under his presidency.
- For Pakistan: Crypto diplomacy has opened new channels of global engagement, but it also risks entanglement with foreign political scandals.
- For the US: The episode revives concerns over Trump’s conflicts of interest—whether personal business ventures override America’s strategic commitments.
The bigger picture
This story underscores how cryptocurrency is no longer just a financial tool—it is becoming a diplomatic lever. If true, Pakistan’s use of crypto diplomacy marks a rare case where digital assets influenced global geopolitics at the highest level.
For India, the suggestion that it was strategically sidelined for private gain raises troubling questions. For Washington, it reignites debate over how much Trump’s personal business empire shapes his policymaking.
In geopolitics, perception often matters as much as reality. Even if unproven, the suspicion that private crypto deals could upend decades of US–India partnership is enough to create ripples across South Asia.
TL;DR
Reports suggest Trump’s cooling ties with India may be linked not to geopolitics but to his family’s alleged stake in WLFI, a crypto project aligned with Pakistan’s blockchain push. While evidence remains circumstantial, the overlap of business interests and policy shifts has raised alarms among critics, including former NSA Jake Sullivan.
