As the global cryptocurrency market gains momentum, Pakistan is taking a strategic step to adopt cryptocurrencies by establishing a regulatory framework. This move aims to attract international investors and create economic opportunities in the digital finance sector, similar to initiatives taken by several other countries.
Pakistan to Draft Crypto Regulations
The South Asian country wants to draw up a clear regulatory framework that will guardrail crypto trading platforms, tokenization, and bitcoin mining and become a leader in blockchain-powered finance. The move comes a few weeks after the appointment of crypto-friendly Bilal Bin Saqib as chief advisor to the finance minister for the management of digital assets in the country.
As a Forbes-recognized Blockchain entrepreneur and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, Sabiq will bring to the table his wealth of experience gathered from 8 years in the blockchain industry and impacting over 200,000 lives via his blockchain innovations.
Saqib has been praised globally for his efforts to link Non-Fungible-Tokens (NFTs) with real-life humanitarian causes, in particular, for launching the world’s first NFTs linked to solving water scarcity in the country.
With Saqib’s recent appointment, the country is positioned for exciting changes in the capital market.
“Pakistan is done sitting on the sidelines, we want to attract international investors because Pakistan is a low-cost, high-growth market with 60% of the population under 30.” said the chief advisor.
Crypto Adoption on the Rise
Pakistan is following the lead of other countries that have embraced crypto. El Salvador became the first country to accept cryptocurrency as legal tender, specifically, Bitcoin as a strategic federal reserve in 2021. The country has since embarked on a mission to accumulate as much of the top cryptocurrency as it can.
Data from the renowned blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis revealed that in terms of crypto adoption by global ranking, Pakistan maintained the ninth position last year. Despite clear warnings from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) citing concerns over the high price volatility surrounding virtual currencies like bitcoin, the country’s crypto adoption has continued to soar.
Recently, Thailand launched a new Distributed Technology (DTL) platform, aimed at driving increased crypto adoption.
