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Imagine a country where banks won’t let you send money overseas, inflation eats away at your salary every month, and the only way to save your earnings is through a phone app that lets you trade Bitcoin with strangers across the globe. That’s Pakistan in 2025. Despite a formal ban on cryptocurrency by the State Bank of Pakistan since 2018, the country now handles an estimated $300 billion in annual crypto trading volume - one of the highest in the world.
This isn’t a glitch. It’s a survival strategy.
Over 40 million Pakistanis now use crypto in some form. That’s more than the entire population of Australia. And it’s not just tech elites in Lahore or Karachi. Farmers, teachers, gig workers, and students are all using crypto to protect their money, pay for services abroad, and send remittances home. The reason? Traditional finance has failed them.
Why Crypto Took Off When Banks Said No
The State Bank of Pakistan banned banks from handling crypto transactions in 2018. The official reason? Protecting consumers from fraud and financial instability. But the real issue was control. Banks didn’t want people bypassing the rupee or moving money outside the system.
It backfired.
Instead of killing crypto, the ban forced it underground - and made it better. Without banks, people turned to peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms like Paxful, Binance P2P, and local apps like CryptoPak and BitPaisa. These platforms let users trade directly with each other using mobile wallets like Easypaisa and JazzCash. You don’t need a bank account. You just need a phone and a Pakistani ID.
Traders now use QR codes to send rupees to a seller’s JazzCash wallet. The seller releases Bitcoin or USDT once the payment clears. It’s fast, anonymous, and works even in areas with no ATMs.
The Real Numbers Behind $300 Billion
That $300 billion figure sounds wild. Is it real? Yes - but not in the way you think.
It doesn’t come from official exchanges. It comes from P2P trades, over-the-counter deals, and untracked wallets. CoinLaw reports 18.2 million verified users, but other estimates say 40 million hold crypto. The difference? Many people trade once a month and never register on an app. They just use WhatsApp groups or Telegram channels to find buyers.
Think of it like a black market economy - but digital and decentralized. Every trade adds up. A student in Faisalabad sends $500 in USDT to a cousin in Canada. A freelancer in Islamabad gets paid $1,200 in Bitcoin for designing a website. A family in Quetta converts $200 in rupees to Bitcoin to protect against inflation. Multiply that by millions of people, every day, and you get $300 billion a year.
It’s not speculation. It’s survival.
What People Are Buying - and Why
Not all crypto is equal in Pakistan.
Bitcoin is the go-to for long-term savings. People buy it when the rupee drops and hold it for months. It’s digital gold - stable, scarce, and global.
USDT (Tether) is the workhorse. It’s a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. When inflation hits 30% in a year, USDT becomes your paycheck. You earn in crypto, spend in crypto, and avoid the rupee entirely.
Ethereum is growing fast. Young developers use it for smart contracts, NFTs, and DeFi apps. Some even earn income by running nodes or participating in token staking.
Other coins? Most are ignored. The market is too risky. People stick to what works: Bitcoin and USDT.
How Energy and Policy Are Shifting
Here’s the twist: the government is quietly helping crypto - even while denying it.
In 2024, Pakistan allocated 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity to Bitcoin mining operations. That’s enough to power a small country. Why? Because Pakistan has cheap energy and a chronic power surplus. Instead of wasting it, they’re letting miners use it.
There’s no official license for mining. But no one’s shutting it down either. It’s a silent agreement: if miners pay for the power, the state looks the other way.
Meanwhile, the State Bank is holding closed-door talks with global regulators. Rumors suggest a new virtual asset law is being drafted - one that could legalize crypto exchanges and tax trading. The goal? Bring this $300 billion economy out of the shadows and into the tax system.
Some analysts even predict a national Bitcoin reserve. Not to control it - but to benefit from it.
Who’s Winning - and Who’s Getting Left Behind
Crypto in Pakistan isn’t equal.
In cities like Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore, teens are buying Bitcoin before they get their first job. IT freelancers earn in crypto and live in USD equivalents. Tech hubs are thriving.
But in rural Sindh, Balochistan, or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Many still can’t access the internet reliably. No smartphones. No mobile wallets. No crypto.
The divide isn’t just economic - it’s digital. Crypto is lifting millions, but only those with access.
Still, the momentum is clear. Every year, over 5 million new users join. In 2025 alone, Pakistan added more crypto users than the entire population of New Zealand.
What This Means for the World
Pakistan isn’t just using crypto - it’s rewriting the rules.
Most countries try to ban or control crypto. Pakistan didn’t. It adapted. It turned a financial crisis into an innovation engine.
Other developing nations are watching. Nigeria, Vietnam, and Indonesia are copying Pakistan’s P2P model. Tanzania saw its DeFi activity grow 6.8x in two years - but Pakistan’s scale is 10 times larger.
This isn’t about rebellion. It’s about necessity. When your currency loses value and your banks won’t help, you build your own system. Pakistan did.
The $300 billion isn’t a number on a chart. It’s millions of people choosing freedom over frustration. It’s parents feeding their kids because they saved in Bitcoin. It’s students paying for online courses because they got paid in USDT. It’s a nation refusing to be held back by outdated systems.
What Comes Next?
Will Pakistan legalize crypto? Probably. But not because it’s trendy. Because it’s too big to ignore.
Regulation will come - with licensing, taxes, and KYC rules. But the core behavior won’t change. People will still trade P2P. They’ll still use USDT to protect their money. They’ll still buy Bitcoin when the rupee drops.
The real question isn’t whether crypto will survive in Pakistan. It’s whether the rest of the world will finally understand that when people are desperate enough, they don’t wait for permission. They build their own future.
This is one of the most hopeful stories I’ve seen in years. People aren’t waiting for permission to survive-they’re building systems that work. The fact that farmers and teachers are using crypto to protect their families? That’s real resilience. No government policy should ever override human ingenuity like this.
It’s not about Bitcoin being a speculative asset here. It’s about dignity. When your currency is collapsing, having a digital store of value isn’t a luxury-it’s a lifeline. And the P2P model? Brilliantly decentralized. No middlemen. No banks holding your money hostage. Just people helping each other with a phone and a QR code.
I hope more countries learn from Pakistan. Not by copying the tech, but by understanding the human need behind it.
Wait a minute. $300 billion? Thats impossible. The state bank wouldnt allow this unless its part of a global reset. This is all a psyop to prepare for CBDCs. Theyre letting crypto thrive so people get used to digital money then they can track every single transaction and freeze accounts at will. You think you’re free? You’re being groomed.
Also the 2000mw for mining? Thats a cover for military surveillance ops. Theyre mining crypto to power AI drones. You dont see it because youre too distracted by the ‘freedom’ narrative. Wake up.
So let me get this straight-Pakistan’s government bans crypto but secretly funds mining operations? Classic. The same people who told us ‘don’t touch Bitcoin’ are now sitting on piles of it while the rest of us get taxed into oblivion. I call it crypto colonialism. The elite get to hoard USDT while the poor just get to hope their JazzCash app doesn’t crash.
Also-why is no one talking about how this is just the first step toward a surveillance state? They’ll legalize crypto, slap on KYC, and then know exactly who bought what and when. Welcome to the future, folks. It’s not liberation-it’s rebranding.
This article is very emotional. But in India we also have same problem. People use crypto because banks are slow and corrupt. But government is also watching. I think it is dangerous. Too many people without knowledge. They lose money. Then they blame the system. Not fair.
Okay I just read this whole thing and I’m literally crying-no joke. This is the most beautiful example of grassroots innovation I’ve ever seen. People aren’t waiting for permission to fix their lives. They’re using WhatsApp groups and QR codes to bypass broken systems and create real value. That’s not just crypto-that’s human connection in digital form.
And the fact that USDT is becoming the de facto currency for daily life? That’s not a bug, it’s a feature. When your inflation hits 30%, you don’t care about ‘fiat vs crypto’-you care about whether your kid can eat tomorrow. This isn’t speculation, it’s survival. And honestly? The world should be applauding them, not questioning their motives.
I’ve been tracking this for years. Every time someone says ‘crypto is only for speculators,’ I think of that student in Faisalabad sending $500 to Canada so his cousin can afford med school. That’s the real ROI.
What we’re witnessing here isn’t merely an economic phenomenon-it’s a philosophical rupture in the social contract. The state has abdicated its duty to protect the value of labor and currency, and in that vacuum, the people have reconstructed financial sovereignty through peer-to-peer trust networks.
This is not rebellion. It is restitution. The $300 billion is not a number-it is the accumulated dignity of millions who refused to be passive victims of institutional failure. The irony? The State Bank’s ban created the very conditions for decentralized resilience. Control was the goal. Autonomy was the result.
What comes next isn’t regulation-it’s recognition. And when that moment arrives, the world will have to decide: do we see these users as criminals-or as the architects of a new economic order?
Let’s be real-this ‘$300 billion’ is mostly ghost volume. People are trading the same coins back and forth to inflate numbers. You think those farmers are really holding USDT? Nah. They’re getting scammed by Telegram ‘traders’ who disappear after a few transactions.
And don’t even get me started on the ‘2000MW for mining’ myth. That power’s going to military bases and state-owned data centers. Crypto mining is just the cover story. This isn’t empowerment-it’s a laundering scheme with a feel-good headline.
Also, ‘Bitcoin as digital gold’? Please. It’s more volatile than the rupee. People are just desperate enough to believe the hype. Sad.
wait so if people are using p2p via whatsapp and jazzcash… how do they even know the price of btc? like… is there some bot? or do they just guess? and what if someone sends fake screenshot of payment? how’s that not a nightmare? also-do they use escrow? or just trust?
also why usdt and not xrp or solana? is it just because binance p2p is easiest? or is there something deeper?
OMG this is sooo last year 😴 I mean, sure, Pakistan’s crypto scene is cute-like a grassroots TikTok trend-but have you seen what’s happening in Dubai? Or even El Salvador? Real innovation is on-chain, institutional, and tokenized. This P2P stuff is just crypto’s awkward teenage phase. Also, USDT? So 2022. We’re already in the era of RWA-backed stablecoins and DeFi-native yield stacks. 🤷♀️✨
Also, the fact that you’re calling Bitcoin ‘digital gold’? So basic. It’s a settlement layer. Not a savings account. 😅
Can I just say-this is one of the most quietly revolutionary things happening on earth right now? No one’s talking about it in the mainstream, but millions of people are quietly rebuilding their financial lives without asking anyone’s permission.
And the fact that they’re using USDT as a daily currency? That’s not a workaround-it’s an upgrade. The rupee is broken. The banking system is broken. But a phone? A QR code? A Telegram group? Those still work. That’s not chaos-it’s adaptation.
I’ve lived in places where the banks shut down for weeks. I know what it feels like to have no access. This isn’t crypto hype. It’s human necessity. And honestly? The fact that the government is quietly letting miners use surplus power? That’s the smartest thing they’ve done in a decade. They’re not supporting crypto-they’re recognizing reality.
Also-this is why I think the next decade belongs to the Global South. They’re not waiting for permission. They’re building.