Pakistan has set up its virtual asset regulatory framework in less than six months, according to Bilal Bin Saqib, state minister and chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), speaking at the Bitcoin Asia conference. He said the effort used only about 8% of the approved budget, or roughly $200,000, leaving about 92% untouched.
Saqib said government performance should be judged by what is delivered rather than by how much money is spent. The framework covers exchanges, custody, brokerage, asset management, lending and settlement. It also introduces requirements tied to governance, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, customer asset protection, cybersecurity and market conduct.
He added that Pakistan’s regulatory agenda goes beyond the current digital asset market. Areas he pointed to for future attention include tokenized markets, programmable payments, stablecoins, machine-to-machine transactions and the AI agent economy, alongside rules for agent payments and agent-driven economic activity. Saqib also said emerging markets do not need to spend a decade catching up and can build at the frontier instead.
Pakistan completed the build-out of its virtual asset regulatory system in less than six months, Bilal Bin Saqib, state minister and chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), said at the Bitcoin Asia conference. He said the process used only about 8% of the approved budget, roughly $200,000, with around 92% of the budget left unused.
Saqib said governments should not measure success by how much they spend, but by what they deliver.
Framework spans core virtual asset activities
According to Saqib, the framework covers exchanges, custody, brokerage, asset management, lending and settlement. It also sets requirements on governance, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, customer asset protection, cybersecurity and market conduct.
Next focus includes tokenization, stablecoins and AI agents
Saqib said Pakistan’s regulatory ambitions go beyond the current digital asset market. Future areas of focus include tokenized markets, programmable payments, stablecoins, machine-to-machine transactions and the AI agent economy. He also said rules will be needed for agent payments and the agent economy.
He said emerging markets do not need to spend 10 years catching up and can build on the frontier. Pakistan, with a population of more than 240 million, is a potential major market for emerging financial technology. The country’s rapid shift from legislation to licensing is being presented as a model case for how governments can respond to next-generation financial infrastructure.
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