Pakistan’s inflation has cooled from last year’s extremes, but price pressures have reappeared. Official data show national CPI rose 3.0 per cent year-on-year in August 2025 and then, in September, accelerated to 5.6 per cent, a big month-to-month increase that shows how fragile real incomes and household savings are. In such an environment, the case for practical inflation hedges and everyday yield becomes urgent and practical.
NEW MONEY
Pakistan’s inflation has cooled from last year’s extremes, but price pressures have reappeared. Official data show national CPI rose 3.0 per cent year-on-year in August 2025 and then, in September, accelerated to 5.6 per cent, a big month-to-month increase that shows how fragile real incomes and household savings are. In such an environment, the case for practical inflation hedges and everyday yield becomes urgent and practical.
Crypto is meeting that need for many users. Pakistan received a record $38.3 billion in workers’ remittances in FY2025, a scale that magnifies the impact of currency swings on household budgets. As formal finance leaves large gaps in access, digital assets provide a tractable path: dollar-linked stablecoins protect their holders against local inflation and on-platform earn products offer programmatic income — provided operators meet strong compliance and security standards.
How Pakistanis are hedging against inflation with crypto: Pakistan consistently ranks among the top markets for grassroots crypto use, with the 2025 Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index placing the country in the global top tier alongside India, Vietnam and Brazil. According to a MEXC survey, South Asia leads global trading activity, reinforcing the region’s retail depth.
Across South Asia, the retail behaviour has sharpened. Spot trading participation rose to 52.0 per cent and 53.0 per cent of users cite “financial independence” as their top motivation in the survey. Regionally, futures participation reaches 46.0 per cent, while 46.0 per cent of global users now say they use crypto as an inflation hedge (up from 29.0 per cent earlier this year).
Two tools that preserve purchasing power: When prices spike, two features matter most: scarcity and stability. Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million, with issuance slowing through halving events embedded in its code. No central bank can print more. For savers watching the rupee’s devaluation, that is the point.
For day-to-day budgeting, stablecoins have become the workhorse: Portfolio data show roughly half of users globally hold them, balancing risk assets with a cash-like buffer. For Karachi traders watching rupee volatility, stablecoins function as digital dollar accounts — without needing a bank that offers forex services.
Crypto also delivers 24/7 access without banking hours. Users can self-custody assets, move value across borders in minutes and transact without queuing for banking windows or facing ad hoc capital controls. Decentralised settlement reduces single-institution counterparty risk and creates redundancy during local disruptions.
With predictable rules and banked on-ramps, crypto adoption in Pakistan can deepen in the service of financial independence: keeping more of each remittance dollar, preserving value through inflation cycles and opening a path to diversified holdings
This mix of scarce assets plus dollar-linked tokens on open networks forms a straightforward toolkit: Park savings in stablecoins to preserve purchasing power; allocate a measured slice to long-term scarce assets to capture upside; and layer yield cautiously through audited earn programmes, with transparent disclosures and clear redress.
Remittances, savings access and the cost of waiting: Where brokerage access remains limited and bank penetration is shallow, crypto offers an alternative path to asset diversification. Users who cannot readily buy stocks or local bond funds can hold a rules-based scarce asset, major public-chain tokens or cash equivalents in a self-custodied or supervised setup.
For the remittance corridor, digital rails promise faster settlement and the potential to compress fees, which still average 6.49 per cent globally, even as South Asia performs better than most regions. Every percentage point saved on fees represents billions in household income when applied to Pakistan’s annual inflows. For unbanked and underbanked users, mobile-first wallets and exchange apps provide a direct entry ramp to saving and transacting.
Risk management belongs at the centre of this promise. Platforms that publish proof-of-reserves, undergo independent security audits and enforce Travel Rule data exchange between virtual-asset providers help ensure innovation is in line with AML/CFT safeguards and consumer protection.
A pragmatic path to financial independence: If inflation remains volatile into 2026, expect inflation-hedge adoption to keep rising, a trend already visible in the 46.0 per cent global share reported by the MEXC survey. In South Asia, rising spot participation and the centrality of financial independence suggest a user base that treats crypto less as entertainment and more as a complementary savings and income stack.
Pakistan’s policy direction, licensing virtual-asset providers and sandboxing remittance pilots, can turn that momentum into safer access, especially if authorities publish clear timelines, banks service licensed providers and platforms adhere to disclosure and security standards.
The practical forecast is straightforward. Stablecoins will continue to anchor household saving strategies; bitcoin and major public-chain assets will retain a role as long-term hedges; and earn products will attract deposits when they meet stringent and verifiable safeguards.
With predictable rules and banked on-ramps, crypto adoption in Pakistan can deepen in the service of financial independence: Keeping more of each remittance dollar, preserving value through inflation cycles and opening a path to diversified holdings for users excluded from traditional markets. When compliant on-ramps connect to the formal banking system, users get the most benefit. This integration channels activity into supervised venues and narrows the space for fraud.
The stakes are immediate; so are the gains when policy, platforms and users pursue the same goal: protecting household purchasing power while building resilient digital-first savings habits.
The writer is chief strategy officer, MEXC and a blockchain entrepreneur and strategic leader with a background in management consulting.
