Islamabad: Minister of State and Chairman of Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Bilal bin Saqib has said that Pakistan is preparing itself for the rapidly changing financial and technological environment.
Addressing the Bitcoin Asia Conference in Hong Kong, Bilal bin Saqib said that Pakistan is increasing its capacity to understand and benefit from new financial technologies. According to him, the country is establishing the necessary institutional foundation to play its role in the digital economy of the future.
He said that Pakistan developed a new regulatory system for virtual assets in less than six months. According to him, only 8% of the allocated budget was spent on this work.
Bilal bin Saqib said that about $200,000 was spent on preparing and making the new system operational. Thus, about 92 percent of the approved budget was not used. According to him, government performance should be assessed not only by the expenditure but also by the results achieved.
He also made an important clarification regarding Pakistan’s strategic bitcoin reserve. He said that the main purpose of this project is not to buy large quantities of bitcoin or benefit from its price increase.
According to him, the main goal is to prepare Pakistan for possible changes in the future financial system. For this, the country will have to improve its capacity related to digital assets, blockchain and new financial technologies.
Pakistan has made rapid progress towards creating a regular legal and institutional framework for virtual assets in the past period. PVARA has been given important responsibilities related to monitoring, licensing and consumer protection of the digital assets sector.
This development is also an attempt for Pakistan to enter a new financial sector. However, with the rapid growth of the digital asset sector, investor protection, prevention of financial crimes, cybersecurity and clear laws will also be important.
The real challenge for Pakistan now is to effectively implement the regulatory system after creating it. If the oversight system remains strong and investor protection is prioritized, the digital asset sector can create new opportunities for investment, technology and financial innovation.
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