IMF Blocks Pakistan’s Crypto Mining Subsidy—Bitcoin Reserve Plans in Limbo

• The IMF has rejected Pakistan’s proposal to offer discounted electricity rates for Bitcoin mining.
• The idea aimed to attract investment and support digital growth, and is now under review by the World Bank.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pushed back against Pakistan’s recent plan to offer subsidized electricity to crypto mining and other energy-hungry sectors. During a recent session with the Senate Standing Committee on Power, Secretary of Power Fakhray Alam Irfan shared that the IMF flagged multiple concerns, ranging from legal uncertainties to the risk of distorting energy markets.

“The IMF has not agreed,” Irfan told the committee, explaining that the global lender was particularly troubled by how the initiative could strain the already overloaded power grid and offer unfair advantages to niche sectors like crypto mining and heavy metals.

One of the IMF’s biggest concerns was that Pakistan moved ahead with its subsidy plans without first consulting key stakeholders. The fund warned that rolling out such a policy without transparency or broader input could shake up the country’s already fragile energy market.

With circular debt already piling up past $4.5 billion (around Rs 1.275 trillion), the IMF fears this could worsen power supply challenges and throw off the country’s economic planning even further.

The government officials stated,

Pakistan is uniquely positioned, both geographically and economically, to become a global hub for data centers. As a digital bridge between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, Pakistan offers the most strategic location in the world for data flow and digital infrastructure.

The Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), a government-supported group, pitched this proposal as a way to create jobs, attract foreign investment, and strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure.

The plan is being reviewed by the World Bank and other international lenders, and concerns remain about whether dedicating such large-scale energy, up to 2,000 megawatts, for mining and AI data centers is viable.

Crypto Ambitions Now in Flux

Earlier this year, Pakistan announced plans to establish a government-backed Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Part of the strategy involved using the country’s robust digital connectivity, including the 45,000-kilometer Africa-2 submarine cable, to support data-heavy industries.

This all comes as part of Pakistan’s bigger push to become a crypto-friendly nation. Taking a cue from U.S. President Donald Trump’s openly pro-crypto stance, the country has been laying serious groundwork to embrace digital assets.

Earlier this year, CNF reported that the government launched the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA) and brought on former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao as a strategic advisor.

Not long after, on April 27, the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the World Leading Finance Initiative (WLFI). That agreement laid out big plans for collaboration on blockchain innovation, expanding DeFi, and driving stablecoin adoption across the country, all part of an effort to regulate digital assets.

In June 2025, the country also released a national crypto regulatory framework, which many saw as a step toward creating a government-managed Bitcoin reserve, an ambitious project that now seems increasingly complicated in light of IMF scrutiny.