Pakistan And El Salvador: An Example Of State-Level Bitcoin Adoption
Pakistan's Minister of State for Crypto and Blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, visited El Salvador in mid-July to establish strategic alliances and gain a deeper understanding of the bitcoin adoption process in the Central American country, to replicate and adapt the positive impact it's having overall in Pakistan. Bitcoin diplomacy is underway, and such is the state-level bitcoin adoption.
We spoke with Mr. Bin Saqib to better understand what they found and how a synergy between the two countries could be fostered through the use of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. "One of the key learnings from El Salvador was that a clear national vision around bitcoin can transform a country's global image and accelerate digital literacy at scale. Their focus on bitcoin education and strategic nation branding stood out, as did their ability to turn a bold idea into a unifying narrative," Bin Saqib explained.
Even with the different approach, Pakistan's representative said that El Salvador's "conviction" is inspiring. "While our approach differs, there's much to learn from their conviction and how they've used Bitcoin as a tool for empowerment and economic repositioning," Bin Saqib detailed.
Pakistan’s Path To State-level bitcoin adoption
We were curious about the goals of Pakistan's strategy. For instance, EL Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender and created other laws to regulate digital assets and tokenization. Is Pakistan looking into a similar approach? Will there be a legal tender status for BTC in the country?
"Our goal is simple: to position Pakistan as the crypto capital of South Asia by advancing forward-looking regulations that drive innovation, investment, and inclusion. We are focused on building a strategic Bitcoin reserve, launching pilot mining projects utilizing surplus electricity, upskilling our population, and establishing regulatory frameworks. We are carving out our path," Bin Saqib explained.
"El Salvador showed us what's possible; we intend to take it even further in our context," he argued.
During this visit, Pakistan’s representative visited some energy and mining facilities and signed a letter of intent with the Bitcoin Office of El Salvador, a government body responsible for overseeing Bitcoin and related matters in the country.
"The purpose of the LOI is to outline the mutual intention of the Parties to explore and establish a strategic collaboration in the fields of Bitcoin education, Bitcoin mining, sovereign Bitcoin reserves, and broader efforts to advance financial inclusion and digital economic empowerment through the responsible use of Bitcoin and decentralized technologies." the official Bitcoin Office X profileposted.
"The visit made one thing clear: for emerging markets like Pakistan, Crypto & AI can act not only as a hedge, it's a chance to rewrite the narrative, attract global builders, and inspire the next generation to build with purpose," Bin Saqid concluded.
This diplomatic encounter around bitcoin means an interesting milestone for both bitcoin and the nations involved. El Salvador is a pioneer, having created a regulatory framework and made history by declaring Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. Pakistan is an innovator, constantly seeking opportunities and learning from successful experiences. And bitcoin is not only part of laws and big conversations, it is becoming an important bet for developing countries in the race to build a better future. It appears that state-level bitcoin adoption will continue to grow along this path.
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