A crypto paradox<\/h2>\n
Pakistan\u2019s crypto landscape is a classic clash between government and populace. Digital assets sit in a grey area. In 2022 the authorities considered banning cryptocurrencies and planned to block websites related to digital assets. In parallel, the state bank announced a CBDC launch by 2025.<\/p>\n
Despite this, the country shows one of the highest adoption rates in the world. Thanks to retail investors, Pakistan entered the global top ten for crypto adoption in 2024.<\/p>\n Analysts also forecast<\/a> further rapid growth: by the end of 2025 the number of crypto users in the country is expected to exceed 27 million, with industry revenue reaching $1.6 billion.<\/p>\n In 2021 the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province announced plans to build state-run farms to mine digital gold. The idea was to use cheap hydropower to top up the treasury.<\/p>\n The initiative stalled until 2025, when the head of the Council on Cryptocurrencies<\/a>, Bilal bin Saqib, announced plans<\/a> to channel surplus electricity into bitcoin mining and to power data centres for AI. Later local media reported that the government would allocate 2 GW<\/a> for these purposes.<\/p>\n The emphasis is on using excess energy from renewables \u2014 hydro, wind and solar. It is a balanced environmental agenda without Luddism: the country does not fear technology but seeks to minimise harm to nature.<\/p>\n Soon Saqib announced<\/a> the creation of a national reserve in digital gold. These intentions, like other moves in crypto and artificial intelligence, raised<\/a> concerns at the IMF<\/span>.<\/p>\n Pakistan has announced ambitious plans to use surplus renewable energy for mining and to create a bitcoin fund. However, practical implementation requires a clear legislative framework. As of now, such a legal base has yet to be developed, the main obstacle to the goal.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s technological sprint would be impossible without China. Beijing is Islamabad\u2019s main partner, and this cooperation goes far beyond politics. It is embedded in the mega-project of the China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC<\/a>).<\/p>\n Key areas of support:<\/p>\n For China, a technologically advanced and stable Pakistan is a guarantee of the security of its investments in CPEC and a key node in the \u201cBelt and Road<\/a>\u201d initiative.<\/p>\n The internet in Pakistan is tightly regulated, but the methods differ from China\u2019s. If the \u201cGreat Firewall<\/a>\u201d is a complex, preventive content-filtering system, Pakistan\u2019s approach is reactive and blunt.<\/p>\n The main regulator is the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Its toolkit:<\/p>\n Such methods inflict direct damage on the digital economy, but the authorities deem them justified to maintain control.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s main vulnerability is access to water. The country critically depends on rivers that originate in India or in Indian-controlled Kashmir. This is a legacy of the Partition of British India, which New Delhi uses as a powerful lever of pressure.<\/p>\n Relations are governed by the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty<\/a>. Under it, Pakistan receives the flows of the \u201cwestern\u201d rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab), and India the \u201ceastern\u201d (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej). India, however, has the right to build hydropower plants on the \u201cPakistani\u201d rivers.<\/p>\n The latest flare-up of the Kashmir conflict, which began in April 2025, once again highlighted this vulnerability. In response to the escalation, India restricted<\/a> the flow of water in the Chenab and Jhelum rivers, which Pakistan uses for agriculture and power generation. Such actions allow India to exert direct economic pressure on its neighbour.<\/p>\n In this context, technological development becomes a matter of survival. Artificial intelligence is already used to optimise water consumption in agriculture, and a shift to alternative energy sources, including mining powered by hydropower plants, helps reduce critical dependence on rivers controlled by India.<\/p>\nDreams of bitcoin mining and state reserves<\/h2>\n
A digital Silk Road<\/h2>\n
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The internet under control<\/h2>\n
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India\u2019s water lever<\/h2>\n
Economic realism and a key to the future<\/h2>\n
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