Key points:

High Bitcoin ETF inflows don’t always signal a price top as historical data is mixed.

Spot Bitcoin inflows often precede short-term price rises, not reversals.

Bitcoin may hit $100K but faces resistance.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price recovery may be stalled at $100,000 as questions emerge whether high ETF inflows have always marked the local top for the asset.

Does $1B Bitcoin ETF inflows signal a top?

Bitcoin has displayed bullish momentum after recovering from its multimonth lows of $74,400. BTC is up 8% over the last seven days, as per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. 

Bitcoin’s recovery was fueled by high investor appetite for spot ETFs, which recorded $3.06 billion net weekly inflows, the largest since December 2025.

Evidence of whether the high spot Bitcoin ETFs inflows could signal that the price is getting close to a local top could be determined by analyzing historical data.

While there have been instances where significant inflows coincided with or preceded Bitcoin price peaks, this has not always been the case.

Spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Source: Glassnode 

The chart above shows that in March 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw record inflows of over $1 billion on March 12, with BlackRock’s IBIT alone receiving $849 million.

This preceded Bitcoin’s new all-time high of around $73,300, suggesting a potential top signal. Similarly, on June 3, 2024, daily inflows hit $917 billion, aligning with Bitcoin’s rally from $67,000 to $72,000, followed by a 25% correction to $53,000. These cases support the idea of major inflows preceding local tops.

However, in November 2024, weekly inflows hit $3.38 billion, as Bitcoin hit one all-time high after another, but this did not immediately lead to a price top. Instead, BTC showed resilience crossing the $100,000 market for the first time to its previous all-time highs of $108,000 reached on Dec. 17, 2025.

Using a Vector Autoregression model, market analytics resource FalconX demonstrated the relationship between ETF net flows and Bitcoin price, and found that inflows have short-term predictive power for price increases, not necessarily reversals.

Related: A ‘local top’ and $88K retest? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

How high can Bitcoin price go?

Bitcoin’s 27% rally from the $74,400 range low saw it flip key levels into support, including the 50-day ($85,100), 100-day ($90,570), and 200-day ($89,300) simple moving averages (SMA).

Bitcoin was still consolidating under the resistance at $95,000 as observed by popular analyst AlphaBTC.

“The pink box [at the $95,000 level] has held $BTC’s price for the last few days, as expected,” AlphaBTC said in an April 28 post on X, hoping to see BTC move past it as the week opens.

Cointelegraph earlier reported that the $95,000 level marks the next significant resistance for Bitcoin and that continued ETF demand and other bullish factors would be key in overcoming it.

AlphaBTC added:

“I think we push to 100K, but then likely see a bigger pullback.”BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: AlphaBTC

Data from monitoring resource CoinGlass shows significant seller interest within the $97,000-$100,000 range over the past three months.

This suggests that Bitcoin’s price might rise further to take the liquidity at $100,000 before staging a pullback.

BTC/USDT liquidation heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, doubted the ability of BTC/USD to sustain a trip above $95,000. While trading firm QCP Capital argued that Bitcoin lacked a “catalyst” to propel it toward $100,000 for the time being.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Opinion by: Ross Shemeliak, co-founder and chief operating officer of Stobox

The Trump administration is pushing a much-revived policy trajectory, marked by tariffs and sanctions that aim to reshore production. Despite exemptions favorable to technology, this dramatic turnaround may seem like a case of the White House treating global trade as its playground. The president’s tariff agenda is fracturing supply chains overnight and disregarding long-standing economic rules.

This latent, chaotic agenda also sees the quiet emergence of a new infrastructure in which blockchain is taking on a fresh role. Insofar as it is not purely focused on decentralization, the technology is geopolitically resilient. With global businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, increasingly pushed toward blockchain, we are witnessing a global economic map redrawing into one centered on Real-World Assets tokenization and stablecoins.

Secondary markets for tokenized trade assets

There are few winners in a trade war. Sanctions and restrictions disrupt international economic rules, and liquidity is one of the first victims. Companies struggle to finance their operations, while risk management models force banks to step back. With the fragmented economic order, a new era in which secondary markets for tokenized trade assets are prevalent is being ushered in. 

These tokenized real-world assets — receivables, commodities or shopping slots, for example — can be fractionalized and sold in global permissioned marketplaces. The resulting access to capital outside of sanctioned corridors grants companies liquidity. As sanctions reduce liquidity, tokenization creates it. Within the economic disruption from the US, there is a moment of opportunity for tokenization.

Onchain provenance

Another implication of sanctions relates to the existential significance of transparency and traceability. Traceability means companies importing goods must prove their origin and routing or risk secondary sanctions. Tokenization may be in a position to benefit.

Recent: US exchanges bet big on crypto derivatives amid tariff turbulence

This owes itself to tokenized assets having immutable metadata — certificates of origin, shipping routes, customs approvals. The result is real-time, tamper-proof compliance, which far outstrips outdated spreadsheets and siloed databases. Manufacturers can directly onchain verify that every component used — down to the source of its raw materials — fully complies with sanctions.

The peril of sanctions extends yet further, as trust in banks is eroded. Exiting high-risk corridors, banks leave companies without neutral payment intermediaries. DeFi Infrastructure and tokenized Escrow represent meaningful options for rebuilding trust without banks. Tokenized Escrow via smart contracts enables milestone-based payments to be enforced by code, not banks. International deals can be conducted without traditional clearing systems while maintaining trust and accountability. When sanctions gnaw away at trust in banks, code can step in as the counterparty.

Stablecoins are a new artery for sanction-neutral payments

Stablecoins do more still. The technology no longer just enables DeFi; it facilitates parallel international trade. While this may seem like the remit of the theoretical, it is happening. As fiat rails fall under geopolitical pressure, companies from Latin America to Southeast Asia adopt stablecoin-based invoicing to keep commerce alive.

While stablecoins began as something of a fintech novelty, the disruption of sanctions to SWIFT and frozen cross-border transfers means that stablecoins like USDC, USDT, and even EURC are emerging as financial lifelines. A shadow banking system has come into being for the sanctioned world. Faster, cheaper, borderless, this offers three serious advantages:

Payments are processed 24/7, without banks or FX intermediaries.

Counterparties can settle in neutral, dollar-pegged assets — outside traditional financial rails.

Smart contracts and stablecoins enable programmable, conditional payments tied to compliance checkpoints.

Neutral blockchain hubs

The deepening fractures in geopolitics are leading to further opportunities for digital infrastructure. With supply chains increasingly politicized, the door is opening to greater use of tokenization by creating “compliance-first” trade hubs. 

This is significant because the trade hubs can be located in neutral countries like Singapore, the UAE and Turkey. These hubs tokenize ports, warehouses and logistics routes. As a result, they embed compliance and origin data directly into the asset lifecycle. Companies seeking a trustworthy alternative in a fraught geopolitical environment can turn to neutral blockchain hubs.  

Tokenized smart contracts

Sanctions carry disadvantages for legacy contracts — these agreements are static, complex to amend, and dependent on intermediaries — and freeze when restrictions are hit. By contrast, the logic embedded in tokenized smart contracts offers more dynamic reactivity to regulatory shifts.

Let’s briefly consider an example — a European supplier tokenizes its invoice and programs the contract to release payment only if goods clear non-restricted jurisdictions. This level of programmable compliance, enabled by the technology, reduces legal risk, operational lag and cross-border tension.

Building infrastructure from uncertainty

An unprecedented, challenging economic environment is emerging from US sanctions, which has painful implications for financial institutions and trade partners. As traditional infrastructure is broken, tokenization offers the possibility to build a new one.

On the surface, tokenization and stablecoins are about efficiency and transparency. Realizing the full benefits requires us to look deeper — they are becoming foundational layers in a parallel global economy. This new order adapts faster than banks, negotiates better than lawyers, and operates beyond the reach of sanctions.

Blockchain does far more than simply record trade. It enforces geopolitical logic at the asset level. With the next economic map being drawn onchain, tokenization’s broad benefits are clear.

Opinion by: Ross Shemeliak, co-founder and chief operating officer of Stobox.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Cryptocurrency services platform Nexo announced that it is reentering the US market after facing previous regulatory challenges.

According to an April 28 announcement, Nexo’s reentry event featured Donald Trump Jr., who said that he thinks “crypto is the future of finance,” adding:

“We see the opportunity for the financial sector and want to ensure we bring that back to the US.”

Trump Jr. also emphasized the need for a regulatory environment that supports the cryptocurrency industry. He said that “the key to everything crypto is going to be the regulatory framework.”

Source: Nexo

Related: Coinbase presses to axe rule banning SEC staff from holding crypto

Nexo is back to fight where it lost

Nexo left the US at the end of 2022, citing a lack of regulatory clarity as the reason behind the decision. At the beginning of 2023, the firm agreed to pay a $45 million settlement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its failure to register the offer and sale of securities of its interest-earning product.

A month after settling with US regulators, Nexo also decided to shut down its interest-earning product to US-based customers. The product allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo.

In late 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation also filed a desist and refrain order against the same interest-earning product managed by Nexo. The regulator claimed that the product was an unqualified security, meaning a security that the government has not approved for sale in the form of an investment contract.

Related: US crypto rules like ‘floor is lava’ game without lights — Hester Peirce

US SEC dances to a different tune now

The US SEC, once viewed as the crypto industry’s primary regulatory obstacle, recently appointed Paul Atkins as chair.

The change was positively commented on by crypto entrepreneurs, with Michael Saylor, the CEO of top corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), saying:

“SEC Chairman Paul Atkins will be good for Bitcoin.”

James Gernetzke, chief financial officer of Bitcoin and crypto wallet Exodus, said that “the promise of being able to engage with a regulator on a reasonable basis is going to be very helpful.”

Nexo declined to comment further on its return to the US market.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

Cryptocurrency services platform Nexo announced that it is reentering the US market after facing previous regulatory challenges.

According to an April 28 announcement, Nexo’s reentry event featured Donald Trump Jr., who said that he thinks “crypto is the future of finance,” adding:

“We see the opportunity for the financial sector and want to ensure we bring that back to the US.”

Trump Jr. also emphasized the need for a regulatory environment that supports the cryptocurrency industry. He said that “the key to everything crypto is going to be the regulatory framework.”

Source: Nexo

Related: Coinbase presses to axe rule banning SEC staff from holding crypto

Nexo is back to fight where it lost

Nexo left the US at the end of 2022, citing a lack of regulatory clarity as the reason behind the decision. At the beginning of 2023, the firm agreed to pay a $45 million settlement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its failure to register the offer and sale of securities of its interest-earning product.

A month after settling with US regulators, Nexo also decided to shut down its interest-earning product to US-based customers. The product allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo.

In late 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation also filed a desist and refrain order against the same interest-earning product managed by Nexo. The regulator claimed that the product was an unqualified security, meaning a security that the government has not approved for sale in the form of an investment contract.

Related: US crypto rules like ‘floor is lava’ game without lights — Hester Peirce

US SEC dances to a different tune now

The US SEC, once viewed as the crypto industry’s primary regulatory obstacle, recently appointed Paul Atkins as chair.

The change was positively commented on by crypto entrepreneurs, with Michael Saylor, the CEO of top corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), saying:

“SEC Chairman Paul Atkins will be good for Bitcoin.”

James Gernetzke, chief financial officer of Bitcoin and crypto wallet Exodus, said that “the promise of being able to engage with a regulator on a reasonable basis is going to be very helpful.”

Nexo declined to comment further on its return to the US market.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

Cryptocurrency services platform Nexo announced that it is reentering the US market after facing previous regulatory challenges.

According to an April 28 announcement, Nexo’s reentry event featured Donald Trump Jr., who said that he thinks “crypto is the future of finance,” adding:

“We see the opportunity for the financial sector and want to ensure we bring that back to the US.”

Trump Jr. also emphasized the need for a regulatory environment that supports the cryptocurrency industry. He said that “the key to everything crypto is going to be the regulatory framework.”

Source: Nexo

Related: Coinbase presses to axe rule banning SEC staff from holding crypto

Nexo is back to fight where it lost

Nexo left the US at the end of 2022, citing a lack of regulatory clarity as the reason behind the decision. At the beginning of 2023, the firm agreed to pay a $45 million settlement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its failure to register the offer and sale of securities of its interest-earning product.

A month after settling with US regulators, Nexo also decided to shut down its interest-earning product to US-based customers. The product allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo.

In late 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation also filed a desist and refrain order against the same interest-earning product managed by Nexo. The regulator claimed that the product was an unqualified security, meaning a security that the government has not approved for sale in the form of an investment contract.

Related: US crypto rules like ‘floor is lava’ game without lights — Hester Peirce

US SEC dances to a different tune now

The US SEC, once viewed as the crypto industry’s primary regulatory obstacle, recently appointed Paul Atkins as chair.

The change was positively commented on by crypto entrepreneurs, with Michael Saylor, the CEO of top corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), saying:

“SEC Chairman Paul Atkins will be good for Bitcoin.”

James Gernetzke, chief financial officer of Bitcoin and crypto wallet Exodus, said that “the promise of being able to engage with a regulator on a reasonable basis is going to be very helpful.”

Nexo declined to comment further on its return to the US market.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

Cryptocurrency services platform Nexo announced that it is reentering the US market after facing previous regulatory challenges.

According to an April 28 announcement, Nexo’s reentry event featured Donald Trump Jr., who said that he thinks “crypto is the future of finance,” adding:

“We see the opportunity for the financial sector and want to ensure we bring that back to the US.”

Trump Jr. also emphasized the need for a regulatory environment that supports the cryptocurrency industry. He said that “the key to everything crypto is going to be the regulatory framework.”

Source: Nexo

Related: Coinbase presses to axe rule banning SEC staff from holding crypto

Nexo is back to fight where it lost

Nexo left the US at the end of 2022, citing a lack of regulatory clarity as the reason behind the decision. At the beginning of 2023, the firm agreed to pay a $45 million settlement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its failure to register the offer and sale of securities of its interest-earning product.

A month after settling with US regulators, Nexo also decided to shut down its interest-earning product to US-based customers. The product allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo.

In late 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation also filed a desist and refrain order against the same interest-earning product managed by Nexo. The regulator claimed that the product was an unqualified security, meaning a security that the government has not approved for sale in the form of an investment contract.

Related: US crypto rules like ‘floor is lava’ game without lights — Hester Peirce

US SEC dances to a different tune now

The US SEC, once viewed as the crypto industry’s primary regulatory obstacle, recently appointed Paul Atkins as chair.

The change was positively commented on by crypto entrepreneurs, with Michael Saylor, the CEO of top corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), saying:

“SEC Chairman Paul Atkins will be good for Bitcoin.”

James Gernetzke, chief financial officer of Bitcoin and crypto wallet Exodus, said that “the promise of being able to engage with a regulator on a reasonable basis is going to be very helpful.”

Nexo declined to comment further on its return to the US market.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

The team behind the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) token sold more than $1.5 million of tokens over the past three days, suggesting a programmatic selling strategy that may add downside pressure to the token.

The team behind the Melania memecoin sold another $930,000 worth of tokens on April 28, two days after selling $630,000, according to blockchain data.

The selling patterns point to dollar-cost averaging (DCA), an investment strategy used to buy or sell a predetermined amount of an asset at fixed times, according to crypto intelligence platform Lookonchain. It flagged the activity in an April 28 post on X, writing:

“The #Melania team didn’t just add or remove liquidity to sell $MELANIA, they also employed a DCA strategy for direct sales!”Source: Lookonchain

Related: Libra, Melania creator’s ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ memecoin crashes 99%

The DCA strategy involves investing a certain amount of funds in an asset at regular intervals, often employed by investors to manage emotional decision-making.

MELANIA/USD, all-time chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Despite the team’s selling, MELANIA staged an over 21% recovery during the past seven days, but remains around 96% below its all-time high of $13.7 recorded on Jan. 20 — the date of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration — according to CoinMarketCap data.

Meanwhile, some large investors are betting on the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin’s price decline.

Source: Lookonchain

A newly created whale wallet deposited $1.33 million worth of USDC (USDC) stablecoins to open a short position with 2x leverage at $14.7. The short would be liquidated if the Trump token’s price rises above $21.50, according to Lookonchain.

Related: Bitcoin still on track for $1.8M in 2035, says analyst

Memecoins were the second-biggest crypto sector in Q1

Memecoins were the second-most-dominant cryptocurrency investment narrative in the first quarter of 2025, reflecting that the market is still recycling old narratives.

AI tokens, memecoins, were leading crypto narratives in Q1 2025: CoinGecko

Memecoins captured around 27% of the global investor mindshare, while artificial intelligence tokens held over 35%, according to a quarterly research report by CoinGecko.

“Seems like we have yet to see another new narrative emerge and we are still following past quarters’ trends,” said Bobby Ong, the co-founder and chief operating officer of CoinGecko, in an April 17 X post.

Pump.fun usage metrics. Source: Binance research report

However, the launch of the TRUMP token and its disappointing performance may have marked the end of the memecoin supercycle, which saw the weekly usage activity on memecoin launchpad Pump.fun stage a significant decline — from 2.85 million active wallets on the week of Jan. 20, to just 1.44 million as of March 31.

Magazine: Caitlyn Jenner memecoin ‘mastermind’s’ celebrity price list leaked

Coinbase has urged the US Office of Government Ethics to remove a rule banning Securities and Exchange Commission staff from holding crypto.

SEC staff need to use crypto to better understand how it works and the best way to regulate it, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal argued in open letters sent to OGE acting director Jamieson Greer and newly sworn-in SEC Chair Paul Atkins, which he shared to X on April 25.

“To regulate technology, you need to understand it. To understand technology, you need to use it,” Grewal said in the letter to Greer.

“Permitting commission staff to hold crypto is essential to them developing the knowledge necessary to propose and adopt workable regulatory frameworks for digital securities activity,” he added.

Source: Paul Grewal

Legal Advisory 22-04, issued on July 4, 2022, by the OGE, prohibits SEC staff from buying, selling, or otherwise using crypto and stablecoins because they are not “publicly traded securities” and don’t qualify for an exception, unlike stocks.

SEC needs waivers for staff 

Grewal said US President Donald Trump directed the SEC and other agencies to submit recommendations for crypto regulations due in around 90 days, and SEC “staff still cannot use the technology on which they are making recommendations.”

In his letter to Atkins and SEC commissioner Hester Peirce, he echoed a similar sentiment, arguing that the inability to hold crypto is a roadblock for the agency’s Crypto Task Force in creating a regulatory framework.

Source: Paul Grewal

While it’s up to OGE to rescind the advisory, the SEC should take its own action, Grewal said. 

“For example, issuing waivers to crypto task force members and other staff actively working on task force matters would be consistent with measures already taken in commensurate advisory situations,” he said.

Related: Coinbase files FOIA to see how much the SEC’s ‘war on crypto’ cost

Grewal added that a waiver would allow SEC staff on the Crypto Task Force responsible for creating crypto regulations to use crypto and “evaluate the underlying digital asset technology.”

Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who took office in 2021, was known for his hardline stance on crypto regulation. He resigned on Jan. 20 after spearheading an aggressive regulatory stance toward crypto, bringing upward of 100 regulatory actions against firms. 

Following Gensler’s exit, the SEC opted out of a swathe of lawsuits against crypto firms, including Coinbase, on Feb. 27 and, in a more recent April 24 walkback, flagged plans to drop its enforcement against blockchain firm Dragonchain. 

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 20 – 26

Coinbase has urged the US Office of Government Ethics to remove a rule banning Securities and Exchange Commission staff from holding crypto.

SEC staff need to use crypto to better understand how it works and the best way to regulate it, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal argued in open letters sent to OGE acting director Jamieson Greer and newly sworn-in SEC Chair Paul Atkins, which he shared to X on April 25.

“To regulate technology, you need to understand it. To understand technology, you need to use it,” Grewal said in the letter to Greer.

“Permitting commission staff to hold crypto is essential to them developing the knowledge necessary to propose and adopt workable regulatory frameworks for digital securities activity,” he added.

Source: Paul Grewal

Legal Advisory 22-04, issued on July 4, 2022, by the OGE, prohibits SEC staff from buying, selling, or otherwise using crypto and stablecoins because they are not “publicly traded securities” and don’t qualify for an exception, unlike stocks.

SEC needs waivers for staff 

Grewal said US President Donald Trump directed the SEC and other agencies to submit recommendations for crypto regulations due in around 90 days, and SEC “staff still cannot use the technology on which they are making recommendations.”

He echoed a similar sentiment in his letter to Atkins and crypto-friendly SEC commissioner Hester Peirce, arguing being unable to hold crypto is a roadblock for the agency’s Crypto Task Force in creating a regulatory framework. 

Source: Paul Grewal

While it’s up to OGE to rescind the advisory, the SEC should take its own action, Grewal said. 

“For example, issuing waivers to crypto task force members and other staff actively working on task force matters would be consistent with measures already taken in commensurate advisory situations,” he said.

Related: Coinbase files FOIA to see how much the SEC’s ‘war on crypto’ cost

Grewal added that a waiver would allow SEC staff on the Crypto Task Force responsible for creating crypto regulations to use crypto and “evaluate the underlying digital asset technology.”

Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who took office in 2021, was known for his hardline stance on crypto regulation. He resigned on Jan. 20 after spearheading an aggressive regulatory stance toward crypto, bringing upward of 100 regulatory actions against firms. 

Following Gensler’s exit, the SEC opted out of a swathe of lawsuits against crypto firms, including Coinbase, on Feb. 27 and, in a more recent April 24 walkback, flagged plans to drop its enforcement against blockchain firm Dragonchain. 

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 20 – 26

The Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial has signed a Letter of Intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council to accelerate crypto adoption in the South Asian country and one of the industry’s fastest-growing markets.

Under the partnership, World Liberty will help the Council launch regulatory sandboxes to test blockchain-based products, expand stablecoin applications for remittances and trade, explore real-world asset tokenization, and assist with the growth of decentralized finance protocols, local news outlet Business Recorder reported on April 27.

World Liberty founders Zach Witkoff, Zak Folkman and Chase Herro signed the letter in a recent meeting with the Council’s CEO Bilal bin Saqib, with Pakistan’s central bank governor, finance minister and IT secretary among those in attendance.

Source: Pakistan Crypto Council

Trump and his family backed World Liberty at the crypto lending and borrowing platform’s launch last year and they receive a cut of its profits.

The Pakistan Crypto Council is a government-backed body that oversees crypto regulation and related initiatives aimed at driving adoption and attracting more foreign investment.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis ranked Pakistan ninth for crypto adoption last year, with an estimated 25 million active crypto users and $300 billion in annual crypto transactions. 

Pakistan is looking to capitalize on its young population, where roughly 60% are under 30, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.

“Pakistan’s youth and technology sector are our greatest assets. Through partnerships like this, we are opening new doors for investment, innovation, and global leadership in the blockchain economy.”Pakistan looks to balance pro-crypto innovation with regulation

The three World Liberty founders recently met with former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who was recently appointed as an adviser to the Pakistan Crypto Council to assist the country on crypto regulation and innovation.

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency also proposed a crypto regulatory framework on April 10, which looks to address terrorism financing, money laundering, and Know Your Customer controls.

Related: Pakistan Crypto Council proposes using excess energy for BTC mining

FIA Director Sumera Azam said the framework is part of a broader effort to strike a “balance between technological advancement and national security imperatives.”

The proposed framework is subject to legislative approval and input from crypto firms operating in the country, with an expected multi-phased rollout beginning in 2026.

Pakistan’s new crypto-friendly approach contrasts sharply with its stance in May 2023, when former finance minister Aisha Ghaus Pasha stated the country would never legalize cryptocurrencies due to concerns over bypassing Financial Action Task Force regulations.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions