Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council and special assistant to Pakistan’s prime minister on crypto and blockchain, met with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in San Salvador to establish a bilateral partnership centered on Bitcoin adoption. The two nations signed a Letter of Intent between El Salvador's Bitcoin Office and the Pakistan Crypto Council, formalizing collaboration on public sector Bitcoin integration, blockchain-driven financial inclusion, and policy frameworks for emerging economies.
El Salvador, which adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, currently holds over 6,240 BTC (valued at ~$740 million) despite ongoing criticism from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pakistan, undergoing a $7 billion IMF loan program until 2027, seeks to emulate this strategy by creating its own Bitcoin reserve and allocating 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity for mining and AI centers. However, the IMF recently blocked Pakistan's proposal for subsidized mining power, citing market imbalance risks.
The meeting followed a virtual discussion between Saqib, Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor—whose firm holds $62 billion in Bitcoin. Saqib lauded Bukele as "one of the most extraordinary visionary leaders of our time," emphasizing his conviction during early Bitcoin skepticism. El Salvador's Economy Minister María Luisa Hayem reaffirmed the nation's commitment in June, stating Bitcoin "keeps being an important project."