Pakistan establishes a Digital Asset Authority to oversee crypto regulation, aiming to bring legal clarity and structure to its digital finance ecosystem
The new regulatory body in Pakistan will be responsible for tokenizing national assets and facilitating the monetization of Pakistan’s surplus electricity through Bitcoin mining.
According to reports, the Ministry of Finance of Pakistan has approved the establishment of a specialized entity based on blockchain technology to oversee the country’s financial infrastructure.
According to a May 21 report from the state-owned broadcaster, PTV, the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA) will function as a regulatory body responsible for the oversight of licensing, the regulation of exchanges, custodians, wallets, tokenized platforms, stablecoins, and decentralized finance applications.
Muhammad Aurangzeb, federal minister for finance and revenue, told the broadcaster, “Pakistan must regulate not just to catch up, but to lead” in the industry.
“With the PDAA, we are creating a future-ready framework that protects consumers, invites global investment, and puts Pakistan at the forefront of financial innovation,”
The PDAA will also be responsible for helping startups develop blockchain-based solutions at scale, facilitating the monetization of Pakistan’s surplus electricity through regulated Bitcoin mining, and tokenizing national assets and government debt.
The Cryptocurrency Council, a Pakistani advisory body established on March 14, recommended the establishment of a new regulatory body. Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, serves as an adviser to the council.
Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of Pakistan’s Crypto Council, said :
“This is not just about crypto it’s about rewriting our financial future, expanding access, and creating new export channels through tokenization, digital finance and Web3 innovation,”
The Express Tribune, a local newspaper, reported on April 10 that Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency had previously proposed a regulatory framework for digital assets to address terrorism financing, money laundering provisions, and Know Your Customer concerns.
Despite initial skepticism, the crypto market in Pakistan has experienced a significant increase.
Aisha Ghaus Pasha, the former Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, stated in May 2023 that Pakistan would never legalize cryptocurrencies.
She cited the potential for digital assets to circumvent regulations established by the Financial Action Task Force, the supranational organization responsible for overseeing finance for money laundering.
Nevertheless, Pakistan achieved a high ranking in Chainalysis’ 2024 crypto adoption index the following year, placing ninth. This was primarily due to the robust retail adoption and transactions at centralized services.
In the interim, Statista, an online data portal, indicates that Pakistan’s crypto market is “experiencing rapid growth.” It anticipates that the number of crypto users will exceed 27 million by 2025, out of a population of 247 million.
Simultaneously, the Pakistani crypto market is anticipated to generate $1.6 billion in revenue by 2025. According to Statista data, the United States continues to be the group leader, with an estimated revenue of over $9.4 billion from its crypto market.
