Pakistan launches crypto regime using 8% of approved budget

Pakistan launched its virtual asset regulatory regime using about $200,000, or 8% of its approved budget. Bilal Bin Saqib, Pakistan’s minister of state and chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, announced the figure at Bitcoin Asia in Hong Kong on August 28. About 92% of the approved budget remained unspent. Pakistan moved from primary legislation to notified regulations in less than six months. The regime now includes a live licensing system for digital asset companies. The framework covers exchanges, custody, brokerage, asset management, lending and settlement. The framework sets requirements for governance, anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, customer asset safeguarding, cybersecurity and market conduct. Saqib said the authority used smaller teams and technology-driven workflows instead of building a large bureaucracy. Saqib said governments need to combine speed with structure, accountability and consumer protection. Saqib said Pakistan’s regulatory ambitions include tokenized markets, programmable payments, stablecoins, machine-to-machine commerce and artificial intelligence agents. He said future rules may need to address delegated authority, identity, compliance and responsibility for transactions executed by AI agents. Saqib described the virtual asset framework as an initial building block for that broader financial system. PVARA’s immediate test is whether the regime can attract legitimate digital asset businesses while maintaining its consumer protections and oversight. Pakistan has more than 240 million people, according to the article.