NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump’s attempt to be a broker in the conflict between India and Pakistan has the spotlight on a deal the hostile neighbour recently negotiated with World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency venture in which the president’s family has 60% stake.
The deal was signed between WLF and the hastily-launched Pakistan Crypto Council , which early last month appointed as its adviser Changzpeng Zhao (CZ) — founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance — with the ambitious objective of making Islamabad South Asia’s crypto capital.
Though the Crypto Council was barely a month old, WLF sent its heavy guns, including Zachary Witkoff, son of Trump’s golf buddy Steve, to Islamabad where they were feted by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, and more crucially, army chief General Asim Munir, who just days later “cleared” the mass killing in Pahalgam of tourists who were segregated on the basis of their faith.
WLF’s stakeholders include Trump’s two sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr, who, along with their brother-in law Jared Kushner, have been scouring different parts of the world for lucrative business deals and have attracted allegations of leveraging their links to the White House.
Witkoff, who, like Trump, is a real estate billionaire focused on New York, is seen as the “man-to-go” in Washington DC. A regular at Mar a Lago, Trump’s golf resort in Florida, Witkoff attracted global attention when he got Israel and the UAE and Bahrain to sign Abraham Accords during the incumbent US President's first term. Trump has now tasked him with getting Russia and Ukraine to sign a peace deal.
With the Trump suddenly pivoting away from his “it is for them to sort out” hands off stance towards the conflict between India and Pakistan and arrogating unto himself the role of firefighter, many seem to be wondering whether Pakistan's dramatic foray into crypto currency in partnership with WLF has already started paying dividends.
The deal was signed between WLF and the hastily-launched Pakistan Crypto Council , which early last month appointed as its adviser Changzpeng Zhao (CZ) — founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance — with the ambitious objective of making Islamabad South Asia’s crypto capital.
Though the Crypto Council was barely a month old, WLF sent its heavy guns, including Zachary Witkoff, son of Trump’s golf buddy Steve, to Islamabad where they were feted by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, and more crucially, army chief General Asim Munir, who just days later “cleared” the mass killing in Pahalgam of tourists who were segregated on the basis of their faith.
WLF’s stakeholders include Trump’s two sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr, who, along with their brother-in law Jared Kushner, have been scouring different parts of the world for lucrative business deals and have attracted allegations of leveraging their links to the White House.
Witkoff, who, like Trump, is a real estate billionaire focused on New York, is seen as the “man-to-go” in Washington DC. A regular at Mar a Lago, Trump’s golf resort in Florida, Witkoff attracted global attention when he got Israel and the UAE and Bahrain to sign Abraham Accords during the incumbent US President's first term. Trump has now tasked him with getting Russia and Ukraine to sign a peace deal.
With the Trump suddenly pivoting away from his “it is for them to sort out” hands off stance towards the conflict between India and Pakistan and arrogating unto himself the role of firefighter, many seem to be wondering whether Pakistan's dramatic foray into crypto currency in partnership with WLF has already started paying dividends.
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