Michael Saylor, the billionaire Bitcoin advocate and executive chairman of Strategy, is backing Pakistan’s state-led Bitcoin pivot, according to new footage and media reports emerging from Islamabad.
A call with top officials marks the latest escalation in Pakistan’s plan to formalize a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR).
The video footage, posted on X by Finance Ministry media officer Hamid Raza Wattoo, shows Saylor with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Minister of State for Blockchain and Crypto Bilal Bin Saqib. The meetings follow Pakistan’s public announcement of the SBR on 28 May at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.
Saylor’s outreach aligns with his long-standing call for sovereign Bitcoin reserves. While he has previously lobbied U.S. policymakers to adopt a Bitcoin strategy, his Islamabad support signals an interest in showcasing Pakistan as a geopolitical proof of concept. He is reportedly becoming an official advisor to the government’s Bitcoin reserve plan via the Pakistan Crypto Council.
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was also appointed a strategic adviser to the council in early April. His remit includes steering blockchain infrastructure, shaping the regulatory framework, and mentoring national digital-asset initiatives. This gives Islamabad a direct line to the world’s largest exchange as it pursues the Bitcoin reserve plan.
Pakistan’s reserve plan, championed by Bin Saqib, was introduced as a state initiative with plans to acquire Bitcoin using state assets and mine additional BTC using domestic energy resources. The Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), which Bin Saqib also leads, has proposed allocating up to 2 GW of surplus energy to power mining facilities and data centers.
IMF tensions and energy politics
The plan has sparked tensions with international lenders. The IMF raised concerns about grid stress and fiscal strain if 2 GW were diverted for mining. Pakistan is currently seeking a new bailout agreement, and its power infrastructure is considered fragile.
Despite this, the PCC has continued promoting the reserve as a path toward “digital non-alignment”, leveraging Bitcoin to reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar and traditional credit channels. A PCC delegation even pitched the reserve to Donald Trump’s crypto-aligned economic team on 4 June in Washington.
Pakistan’s crypto policy remains complex. While the reserve is government-led, general crypto trading remains technically illegal under the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) guidelines. The government is reportedly preparing a Digital Assets Authority bill, which may offer legal clarity when Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance reconvenes.
Regional analysts are also watching closely. Pakistan’s pivot could ripple across South Asia. However, the move could unsettle major creditors like China, which has poured billions into Pakistan’s energy sector through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
What’s next?
It remains to be seen how Saylor plans to assist in an ongoing role in implementing the reserve and whether he will be working directly with CZ.
In the meantime, the SBR initiative is advancing quickly. With a sovereign reserve, surplus energy, and now the world’s most prominent Bitcoin evangelist in the picture, Pakistan is testing whether a fragile economy can hedge its bets with digital gold.
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