ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has emerged as one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency markets, with around 40 million Pakistanis reportedly holding crypto accounts, according to the chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), Bilal Bin Saqib.
Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, Bilal Bin Saqib said Pakistan had become the world’s third-largest crypto market as interest in digital assets continued to grow, particularly among the country’s younger population.
He said global attitudes toward money and financial systems were changing, with countries including the UAE, Thailand and Singapore moving towards alternative forms of currency and digital finance.
Bilal Bin Saqib stressed that restricting technology would amount to restricting Pakistan’s own economic potential. He said a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency had already been established in Pakistan.
The PVARA chairman warned that the authority would begin taking action against illegal digital asset companies after September 5. He also disclosed that several international companies had applied for no-objection certificates (NOCs) to operate in Pakistan’s virtual assets sector, including Binance and HTS.
He said the government’s focus was to bring the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency sector within a regulated framework while providing greater opportunities for digital financial innovation.
