Pakistan is officially stepping into the world of digital finance. The government has just launched the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA), a new body that will manage and regulate Bitcoin and other digital assets across the country.
This move comes at a time when Pakistan’s unofficial crypto market is estimated to be worth around $25 billion.
Pakistan Launches PDAA To Regulate Digital Assets
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance announced the official launch of the PDAA, a dedicated body to regulate all things related to digital assets. This includes Bitcoin, stablecoins, tokenized assets, wallets, and even decentralized finance (DeFi) tools.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the PDAA will help build a secure, investor-friendly environment and make Pakistan more attractive to global blockchain firms.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the PDAA is not just about regulation. It’s also about creating a strong, forward-thinking system that invites foreign investment, protects users, and encourages Web3 innovation.
What Will the PDAA Do?
Here are some key responsibilities the PDAA will take on:
Oversee Pakistan’s massive $25B crypto market
Promote Bitcoin mining using extra, unused energy
Allow the tokenization of government-owned assets and public debt
Provide legal ways for investors, both inside and outside Pakistan
Help grow Web3 startups and digital exports
Global Crypto Partnerships Underway
Another eye-catching move was Pakistan’s recent deal with World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto company backed by the Trump family. It recently signed a deal with World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto company linked to the Trump family.
The deal was made through the Pakistan Crypto Council, which also brought on Binance founder CZ as an adviser. These partnerships hint at Pakistan’s larger plan to become a serious player in the global crypto space.
New Financial Identity for Pakistan?
With this new framework, Pakistan joins countries like Singapore, Japan, and the UAE, which have already made space for blockchain innovation. The PDAA will operate under FATF-compliant rules to ensure international trust.
Experts believe this could be the beginning of a major shift. As Bilal Bin Saqib from the Pakistan Crypto Council said, “This isn’t just about crypto, it’s about reshaping the future of finance in Pakistan.”
If all goes as planned, Pakistan could soon be South Asia’s next big crypto destination.
Welcome to the US Morning Crypto News Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee to see what experts say about Bitcoin (BTC) amid prevailing market turmoil caused by Trump’s tariffs and broader macroeconomic events. BeInCrypto reported that the status of Bitcoin as a hedge against economic uncertainty is coming under scrutiny. Now this view is becoming increasingly tangled.
Bitcoin Price Closes In On $89,000 While Traditional Markets Slide
On Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended their declines, while the US dollar index (DXY) also fell to a 3-year low. The turnout highlighted a divergence in performance between crypto and equities.
S&P500, Nasdaq, and US DXY price performances. Source: TradingView
“Only 6 times since the 1970s have the DXY and SPX fallen together: 70s stagflation, Gulf War, Greenspan hikes, the dot-com crash, 9/11… Buyback window opens Friday for US corporates,” VanEck Head of Digital Assets Research Mathew Sigel commented on X.
The selloff in equities came amid heightened political tension and renewed concerns over the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) independence. President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of Fed chair Jerome Powell.
“Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” the President wrote on Truth Social.
The post followed earlier remarks hinting at Powell’s potential removal, an idea reportedly being reviewed by Trump’s economic advisors.
Trump also suggested the economy would slow unless interest rates were cut immediately. The bone of contention between Trump and Powell is that while the president pushes for interest rate cuts, the chair advocates a more cautious stance.
Market reaction was swift:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 971.82 points (2.48%) to 38,170.41.
Nasdaq Composite fell 2.55% to 15,870.90.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.36% to close at 5,158.20.
The so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks were hit hardest.
Tesla sank 5.8%
Nvidia slid more than 4%
Amazon and Meta both dropped around 3%.
Industrial heavyweight Caterpillar also lost 2.8%.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is bucking the trend, steadily approaching the $89,000 threshold while traditional markets slide. A decisive move above this level could see the pioneer crypto hit the $90,000 target highlighted in Monday’s US Crypto News briefing.
Historically, Bitcoin’s performance has shown an inverse correlation with the DXY. This prompts speculation that a pivotal moment for the pioneer crypto may be on the horizon.
“The DXY has broken down to March 2022 levels. Bitcoin is back on the move,” highlighted analyst Ben Werkman.
BeInCrypto contacted Geoff Kendrick regarding the Bitcoin price outlook as traditional finance (TradFi) shows weakness. The Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered said Bitcoin’s resilience signals a shift in how investors perceive the digital asset.
In his opinion, the king of crypto is now increasingly seen as a hedge against risks in TradFi and US Treasuries.
“I think Bitcoin is a hedge against both TradFi and US Treasury risks. The threat to remove US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell falls into Treasury risk—so the hedge is on,” Kendrick told BeInCrypto.
This sentiment aligns with a recent report when US 10-year treasury yields fell below 4%. The incident signaled a potential shift in Fed policy and sparked renewed interest in Bitcoin and other risk assets.
Sentiment is Improving for Crypto, Bitwise Europe Analysts Say
According to the Tuesday Newsletter from Bitwise Europe, the firm’s proprietary Cryptoasset Sentiment Index has flipped to a “slightly bullish” reading.
“At the moment, 8 out of 15 indicators are above their short-term trend. Exchange inflows and the BTC funding rate have both improved since last week,” Bitwise analysts noted.
Bitwise also noted a continued high correlation between Bitcoin and altcoins, which suggests that a surge in Bitcoin’s price could spill over to other tokens. According to the newsletter, around 20% of tracked altcoins outperformed Bitcoin over the past week.
On the TradFi side, Bitwise reported a marginal uptick in Cross Asset Risk Appetite (CARA), which rose from -0.59 to -0.43. CARA is the firm’s proprietary gauge of market sentiment across traditional asset classes.
While the CARA index is still subdued, it points to a modest rebound in risk appetite. This renewed interest aligns with Kendrick’s view that Bitcoin’s number one purpose in a portfolio is to hedge against risks to the existing financial system.
“Bitcoin’s number one purpose in a portfolio is as a hedge against risks to the existing financial system, due to its decentralized ledger, and this can play out via two routes, as private sector risks like the March 2023 SVB collapse and risks associated with the government sector, such as US Treasury risks,” Kendrick told BeInCrypto.
The Standard Chartered analyst said the current threat to the Fed’s independence via Powell’s potential replacement falls squarely into the second of these categories.
“In terms of what is measurable the current threat plays out via US Treasury term premium, which is now at a 12-year high, 10Y term premium,” he added.
Coinbase Prime, the institutional arm of the popular cryptocurrency exchange, has announced it will end custody support for 49 altcoins by the end of this month.
The move will affect a range of lesser-known tokens. These include assets associated with niche blockchain projects and even real estate-related tokens.
49 Altcoins Lose Custody Support on Coinbase Prime
“We regularly evaluate the assets we support to ensure they continue to meet our standards. Based on recent reviews, Coinbase Prime will end custody support for 49 assets, effective the end of the month,” the post read.
The impacted tokens include BOSAGORA (BOA), 0chain (ZCN), pNetwork (PNT), Telcoin (TEL), and Oraichain Token (ORAI). The list also mentioned Sentinel Protocol (UPP), Cellframe (CELL), Ideaology (IDEA), and RioDeFi (RFUEL), which cater to different use cases within the blockchain ecosystem.
Even real estate and investment-related assets were impacted. 1717 Bissonnet (1717), The Edison (EDSN), Draper Garland Apartments (GFDG), Forest Crossing Apartments (GFFC), Hello Albemarle (HLAB), etc were some of the mentioned tokens.
While some of the featured tokens saw modest declines, others remained unaffected. In addition, PNT, ORAI, IDEA, and TEL have apprecaited in price over the past day.
Nevertheless, the latest decision to remove these assets suggests that the platform is reassessing its offerings. Coinbase has not disclosed specific reasons for removing these particular assets.
Still, the move could be linked to factors such as low liquidity, market activity, or failure to meet institutional-grade compliance standards. For institutional clients using Coinbase Prime, this change means they will need to transfer or liquidate their holdings before the end of April 2025.
According to its website, Coinbase Prime currently supports over 430 assets. Thus, the shift represents a relatively small adjustment in the broader offering.
However, broader market conditions have negatively impacted the exchange. BeInCrypto reported that Coinbase’s stock experienced a 30% dip in Q1 2025. Moreover, the period marked the company’s worst quarter since the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed.
As Coinbase moves forward in a volatile cryptocurrency market, this decision to delist certain assets seems to be part of a larger strategy to concentrate on more liquid tokens and better serve the needs of institutional clients.
US President Donald Trump is reportedly launching a new crypto wallet in partnership with Magic Eden. Apparently, users will also be eligible to partake in a $1 million airdrop of TRUMP tokens.
There aren’t many specific details about this project available, but Magic Eden confirmed its involvement. Trump has a long-running interest in the NFT market, launching new ones last month, which could explain this choice.
Trump recently included NFT rewards in his Gala Dinner package, potentially explaining Magic Eden’s help making the wallet.
Unfortunately, we don’t have even the most basic information about the TRUMP wallet yet, including topics like KYC information, security, custody structure, etc. For now, interested users can join the waitlist in the hope of future developments.
The waitlist doesn’t have a clear end date, but it encourages users to buy TRUMP tokens. The meme coin has seen increased sell-offs since the dinner concluded a few weeks ago. Yet, today’s wallet announcement brought a brief spike.
The latest crypto wallet will likely bring more political scrutiny, specifically from the Democrats. Yet, the US president seems committed to furthering his meme coin venture.
(@MagicEden) 