By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has become the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency market, with roughly 40 million residents now holding accounts linked to digital assets, according to the head of the country’s newly formed virtual-asset regulator.
Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, told a Senate committee that the country’s young population has driven adoption even as the central bank spent eight years restricting the sector. The State Bank of Pakistan’s stance left the country unable to adapt to the technology, Saqib said, adding that the government’s goal now is regulation rather than promotion of an activity that had already taken hold among younger citizens.
Saqib estimated Pakistan’s virtual-asset market at $250 billion, with $10 billion to $20 billion of that sum held by Pakistani investors. Most users are under 40, he said.
The briefing, delivered to the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat chaired by Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan, touched on a regulatory framework that PVARA built in five months — among the fastest such rollouts globally, according to the authority. Saqib pointed to the UAE, Hong Kong and Thailand as jurisdictions pursuing comparable frameworks.
On taxation, Saqib noted that India has imposed a 30% levy on virtual assets, but said Pakistan is still weighing the right rate, cautioning that setting it too high risks pushing investors and businesses offshore.
Two international virtual-asset firms have received no-objection certificates and have until Sept. 5 to complete registration, Saqib said. After that deadline, authorities will begin enforcement action against operators that remain unregistered. A cabinet secretary told the committee that crypto-related businesses will not be permitted to operate without licenses.
Saqib framed the sector as a potential lever for remittances and foreign-exchange inflows. Pakistan currently receives $41 billion annually in remittances, he said, and lowering transaction costs through regulated channels could add another $2 billion in foreign exchange. PVARA is working with the State Bank to identify cheaper transfer channels and to draw activity now occurring in the grey market into the formal system.
Lawmakers also pressed Saqib on religious objections to cryptocurrency. Senator Saadia Abbasi cited past comments from Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, who has ruled cryptocurrency impermissible under Islamic law. Saqib said he had discussed the regulatory authority’s position with the scholar directly, and that a joint statement addressing the matter would be issued soon.
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