- After years of vacillating on crypto, Pakistan’s leaders appear to have settled on supporting the sector.
- The authorities have created a crypto council, which in turn, announced plans to legalize crypto.
- Although crypto has historically been banned, the sector has grown organically, with Pakistani citizens turning to it to hedge against inflation and currency depreciation.
- For more stories about how crypto is being adopted in countries worldwide, please visit our Crypto in Action pages.
Pakistan’s about-turn on crypto
In March 2025, the finance ministry announced the launch of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), which it said would “regulate and integrate blockchain and digital assets” into the country’s financial landscape. It argued that this was in line with global trends, and it reverses years of lacking support for the sector.
Specifically, the PCC is an advisory body on which representatives from government, industry and regulation sit. It is designed to oversee Pakistan’s policy development in crypto and blockchain, as well as collaborate with other countries to develop standardized frameworks.
The crypto council’s big ambitions for Pakistan
The PCC is not lacking in ambition. Its head, entrepreneur Bilal Bin Saqib, has said that he is seeking to position the country as the region’s crypto hub. He’s set a target of reaching 15 million users, and ultimately wants to have Pakistan compete with Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore in the crypto sphere. As one of the council’s first moves, Saqib announced that Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder, had been appointed as a strategic adviser to the PCC, while Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb declared that: “We are sending a clear message to the world: Pakistan is open for innovation.”
Currently, it is estimated that 15-20 million Pakistanis use crypto, and in terms of adoption, Pakistan ranks ninth globally. Peer-to-peer (P2P) is the primary means of usage, and stablecoins are popular, with many Pakistanis protecting their finances against the country’s long-standing political and financial instability. Reports suggest that Pakistani retailers convert their salaries into stablecoins as a hedge against a volatile fiat currency and inflation.
Although inflation is currently low, as recently as 2023, it stood at more than 30%, a year that also saw the currency fall to an all-time low against the US dollar. Stablecoins offer a means to access the US dollar during a period where import restrictions have hindered the physical acquisition of the currency.
Figures provided in 2023 suggested that the annual trading volume for Pakistan-based wallets had risen to $25 billion, up $5 billion on the previous year.
The PCC’s focus looks set to be on the country’s youth. More than 60% of the 240 million population are under the age of 30. Saqib has said: “Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology hold immense potential for Pakistan, particularly for the youth, who are the driving force behind our nation’s digital future. With the right strategies and regulatory framework, we can empower our country’s youth, foster economic growth, and establish Pakistan as a leader in the space.”
Pakistan Crypto Council’s policy agenda
Regulation is vital. Saqib has said that: “The PCC’s first step is to establish a robust, transparent regulatory framework mandating know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance for all crypto activities.”
Saqib has also said that the PCC is advocating for a clear regulatory framework for blockchain and Web3, and is looking at options like tokenizing real-world assets.
As the situation stands, the lack of regulation has left the sector at risk from untracked transactions, and offering little protection for customers and investors. Saqib has pointed to unmonitored cross-border transactions exacerbating the country’s shortages of US dollars.
Another early possible policy move that has been announced is the use of blockchain to help improve the speed and lower costs of remittance payments. Pakistan is in the top 10 countries for remittance payments, with overseas Pakistanis sending more than $31 million in payments to the country during 2023-2024.
The PCC is also exploring crypto mining. The PCC has reportedly been in talks with several mining firms and is seeking to allocate part of the country’s surplus electricity to mining bitcoin and data centers. The idea is to agree an electricity tariff that will attract miners and data centers, helping to spur growth in the sector. Currently bitcoin miners are estimated to spend up to 60-70% of their earnings on electricity costs. A new subsidy could reduce these payments and absorb surplus power, but the stability of power supplies is likely to be an issue.
Crypto’s great reversal of fortunes
Pakistan has vacillated on crypto for years. Previous administrations have banned crypto – a central bank circular in 2018 prohibited financial institutions from supporting crypto transactions – although by 2020, there were signs that this attitude might be softening with a paper released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) advocating for a ‘let things happen’ approach. This was premised on the idea of allowing the sector grow without overregulating it.
Historically, the finance ministry has been against crypto, although in 2024, there was a sense that attitudes might be changing, and its notable that its current minister, Aurangzeb, has publicly thrown his support behind the PCC. The central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has added further confusion, both stressing that it upholds the ban on crypto while developing a digital currency.
Timeline of regulation
2018
In April, a circular from the SBP urged banks and those providing payment services against using cryptocurrency in any capacity on the basis that they were not legal tender. This effectively halted trading through Pakistan’s banks and exchanges.
In October, on the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), regulations were drafted for Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs). Under the proposals, companies would be mandated to meet set capital requirements, conduct due diligence, and take specific steps to ensure the safety of customer funds. Those failing to comply would have their operating license suspended or revoked.
2019
In April, the EMIs legislation was introduced.
Crypto mining was legalized but government regulations and electricity shortages adversely affected take-up.
2020
In November, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) released a paper, which provided possible approaches for cryptocurrency regulation. Working with the Financial Action Task Force, public comments were invited. Additionally, the central bank stated that Pakistan had not banned cryptocurrency.
2021
In March, the-then Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin revealed that the government was working on cryptocurrency regulations.
The following month, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance discussed regulating cryptocurrencies and called for investor protections to be formulated.
The government set up a committee to study cryptocurrency regulations. Committee observers included the FATF, ministers and heads of the country’s intelligence agencies.
2022
In January, the SBP announced it planned to ban cryptocurrencies.
Yet, in May, it announced it was exploring the idea of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). By the end of the year, the bank announced that new regulations would allow for a CBDC launch by 2025.
In September, the SECP drafted a framework for regulating crypto activities and initial coin offerings (ICOs).
The following month, the FATF removed the country from its grey list on the basis of the work it had done to address the taskforce’s 2018 and 2021 action plans for the country.
2023
In May, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha, was quoted as saying that cryptocurrencies will “never be legalized in Pakistan” reportedly in line with stipulations made by the FATF. The SBP and Ministry of Information Technology were reportedly ordered to begin the process of banning cryptocurrencies.
2024
In November, the SBP proposed amendments to the State Bank of Pakistan Act, which would recognize digital assets as legal.
Regulation is vital to Pakistan’s long-term crypto success
If Pakistan legalizes crypto, it will be the first South Asian government to do so. The PCC is certainly big on ambitious statements but as yet, few policy details have emerged. Its focus on the need for regulation is important. Without a strong, transparent regulatory environment, Pakistan will struggle to create the type of crypto sector that Saqib and Aurangzeb have said they want to deliver. Without this, Pakistan has no hope of performing on the global stage as the PCC has suggested.
Notably, in 2023, then-Finance Minister Pasha, speaking before a Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the FATF had stipulated that Pakistan could not legalize cryptocurrencies if it wanted to remain off the grey list. This places a question mark over the PCC’s policy plans, and also suggests that far tighter AML and CFT frameworks will be required to satisfy international observers.
