Bilal, Binance and Bitcoins: Is a dubious crypto deal driving Trump’s new bromance with Pakistan?

The sudden warmth between Washington and Islamabad has taken many by surprise. Over the past few months, US officials who had long criticised Pakistan for harbouring terrorists and playing a double game have suddenly been making friendly overtures. Pakistani Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has visited the United States twice in just a few months, while American lawmakers and policymakers have hosted Pakistani delegations with unusual enthusiasm.

At first glance, this may look like a reset in US-Pakistan ties, the kind that usually comes around whenever America needs Islamabad for regional security, especially in Afghanistan. But dig a little deeper, and a far more disturbing picture emerges. The real story, as several reports and online investigations suggest, may not be about diplomacy at all. It may be about money, specifically a crypto deal linking Donald Trump’s family, Pakistan’s military, and some of the shadiest figures in the global financial world.

If true, this deal would not only give Pakistan’s army a new lifeline at a time of bankruptcy but also open fresh channels for terror financing, money laundering, and influence-buying in Washington. At the centre of this murky arrangement is a young British-Pakistani entrepreneur, Bilal bin Saqib.

Pakistan’s desperation meets Trump’s opportunism

For decades, Pakistan’s economy has been held together with duct tape and foreign bailouts. The army, which has always run the country from behind the scenes, has survived by siphoning off US aid, Gulf money, and IMF loans. But it seems that model is failing. Pakistan is broke, its reserves are dwindling, and even friendly countries like Saudi Arabia are reluctant to throw endless dollars into a bottomless pit.

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This financial crunch has forced Pakistan’s generals to look for new tools to sustain their empire. Cryptocurrency, with its global reach and weak regulation, provides the perfect instrument. Money can move across borders in seconds, without banks, without oversight, and with enough layers of wallets to obscure its final destination. For a state long accused of funding militants through hawala and fake charities, crypto offers the next-generation solution.

On the other side is US President Donald Trump. Reports show that the Trump camp has embraced cryptocurrency as a way to attract investors and create new funding pipelines. What Pakistan offers Trump is more than just a market; it offers a military-backed partner willing to play in the shadows.

Enter Bilal bin Saqib

Into this picture steps Bilal bin Saqib, a young British-Pakistani entrepreneur who has suddenly emerged as a key player. He is not just the CEO of Pakistan’s newly formed Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Blockchain. He is also an advisor to World Liberty Financial (WLF), the Trump family’s crypto venture.

This overlap is startling. WLF is no ordinary company. Reports claims that Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner together hold a 40 percent stake, while Donald Trump himself is described as “co-founder emeritus.” In other words, it is a family-controlled financial vehicle. On April 15, 2025, WLF appointed Bilal as an advisor. Just weeks later, Pakistan elevated him to run its national crypto council. By April 26, 2025, Pakistan and WLF had signed a deal, coinciding with heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.

That means the same man, Bilal bin Saqib, was sitting on both sides of the negotiating table, representing Pakistan in Washington while simultaneously advising Trump’s company.

Bilal’s influence campaign

Since then, Bilal has been busy selling Pakistan’s “crypto vision” in Washington. In June 2025, he met dozens of US lawmakers, including Senator Cynthia Lummis, a well-known crypto advocate, and Senator Bill Hagerty of the Banking Committee. He also met White House advisers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, another crypto enthusiast.

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This lobbying blitz is not accidental. By positioning himself as the bridge between Pakistan’s crypto sector and America’s political elite, Bilal is creating a channel where Pakistan’s military interests blend with Trump’s financial ambitions. It is a strategy that combines business, politics, and influence all at once.

The Binance connection

However, the story does not stop with Trump and Bilal. Another character has entered the stage -- Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, the founder of Binance.

Binance is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, but it has been dogged by allegations of money laundering and terror financing for years. In November 2023, the US Department of Justice, Treasury, and CFTC slapped Binance with a $4.3 billion penalty -- the largest ever in such a case -- after uncovering that the platform had allowed funds to flow to Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS. Binance also admitted to violating sanctions by enabling transactions with Iran. Zhao himself pleaded guilty and served four months in prison.

Despite all this, Zhao has now reemerged as a “Strategic Advisor” to Pakistan’s Crypto Council. He is also reportedly working closely with Trump’s World Liberty Financial. That means a convicted crypto mogul with documented links to terror financing is now helping shape Pakistan’s national crypto policy while partnering with Trump’s family venture.

For India, this is particularly alarming. Pakistan already has a long history of funnelling money to terror groups through hawala networks and fake charities. With Binance and Zhao involved, crypto could become the newest channel for financing outfits targeting India.

Shell companies and military charities

What makes this theory murkier are Bilal’s own business dealings. Reports suggest that many of his companies are registered at the same address, with no functioning websites or clear financial records -- classic signs of shell companies.

His sister, Minahil, controls a majority stake in Tayaba UK, which partners with Al Mustafa Trust (AMT). This so-called charity is in reality a slush fund for Pakistan’s military, run by retired generals, admirals, and air marshals. Like many “charities” in Pakistan, AMT operates as Milbus -- military-owned businesses that enrich the officer class while staying off the official defense budget.

This creates a closed circle: Bilal runs shell-like companies, his sister partners with a military-linked charity, and together they serve as civilian faces for Pakistan’s opaque military-financial complex. By plugging this network into Trump’s crypto venture, Pakistan has effectively merged its domestic corruption with US political finance.

A theory circulating online: The X thread

An X user recently put forward a detailed theory tying all these strands together. According to this thread, Bilal bin Saqib is not just a businessman but the lynchpin of a grand arrangement linking Pakistan’s army, Trump’s family, and Binance’s scandal-ridden founder.

The US has been cosying up to Pakistan over the last few months. And this isn’t routine diplomacy.

At its heart is a crypto deal that is more like a financial arrangement b/w the Trump administration & Pakistan’s military slush fund, with a string of shady players involved.

🧵 pic.twitter.com/sESy7dBLU9

— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) August 20, 2025

The thread claims that Bilal, by holding top positions in both Pakistan’s Crypto Council and Trump’s WLF, is acting as the “man in the middle” for a financial pact that allows Pakistan to route slush funds through crypto while giving Trump a new source of campaign financing. It further alleges that Binance, despite its guilty pleas for enabling terror financing, has found a new home as the platform of choice for this deal.

While this remains a theory and has not been independently verified, it is consistent with several publicly known facts: Bilal’s dual roles, Binance’s record of violations, and Pakistan’s use of crypto as a survival strategy. At the very least, it highlights how the convergence of these actors could create a perfect storm of corruption, money laundering, and geopolitical instability.

Why this matters for India

For India, the implications are serious. If Pakistan’s military gains access to a new financial pipeline through crypto, it will be able to sustain its terror proxies even in the face of bankruptcy. Money that once moved through hawala could now move through digital wallets, harder to trace and faster to deploy. Groups hostile to India could benefit from fresh funding disguised as “crypto transactions.”

The US angle is equally troubling. If all this holds any legitimacy, then Trump and his family financially entangled with Pakistan’s generals, severely weakens India’s ability to get Washington to act against Pakistani terror. A compromised US presidency could blunt India’s diplomatic leverage and create space for Pakistan to act more aggressively.

At its heart, this is not just about cryptocurrency. It is about how a bankrupt state run by generals is reinventing its old habits using new tools. It is about how a political dynasty in America is willing to cut deals with dubious partners if it helps its campaign and business interests. And it is about how a global platform like Binance, already convicted for enabling terror finance, can reinsert itself into geopolitics through Pakistan.