Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) gives off rare confidence – a quality that helped it go up to large peaks in a short time. Created in March of this year, the Council is headed by the Minister of State of Cryptography and Special Assistant of the Prime Minister of Blockchain and Crypto, Bilal Bin Saqib, who is also the Director General (CEO).
Last month, at a high-level Bitcoin conference in the United States, which was also assisted by the sons of American President Donald Trump, Saqib unveiled the very first Bitcoin Strategic Reserve (SBR) in Pakistan (SBR).
But while the Minister of the State held meetings with crypto leaders, political decision -makers raised questions about the pace to which the CCP was going. The legislators also expressed that cryptocurrencies were prohibited nationally. According to legislators, this erroneous dichotomy could have an impact on the position of Pakistan in the global cryptography race.
The CEO of Antematter[dot]Io, a technology engineering company, building solutions using web3 and artificial intelligence (AI), Soban Raza adds its perspective: “At a fundamental level and speaking rather theoretically, assets and decentralized cryptocurrencies are excellent.
Commenting on the visible lack of coordination between the various departments, Raza says: “First of all, the CCP unveiled the strategic reserve and shortly after the government has affirmed unequivocally that the crypto was still illegal in Pakistan.
“This sends mixed signals on the international market and erodes the confidence of investors.
“We still don’t know where the government is located as a whole on the crypto, bitcoin and digital assets.”
The discussion, however, led the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to clarify that in 2018, when it advised its regulated entities to refrain from treating virtual assets (EVA), this meant a precaution in a financial environment without legal and regulatory framework for such assets – and not because the active people themselves were illegal.
Having had a certain clarity concerning the legality of cryptocurrencies, the country began to write a regulatory framework for digital and virtual assets; The last meeting of the PCC and other stakeholders concerned, including managers of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP); SBP; And the law and the IT ministers took place on June 5.
While Pakistan is heading for an All-Etil on Crypto situation, the experts presented both suggestions and warnings.
The former adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Khaqan Najeeb, said: “The country must establish a clear and prospective vision of virtual assets, positioning itself as a progressive but prudent competence.
“This requires combining a strong AML [anti-money laundering]/ CFT [countering the financing of terrorism] Compliance with innovative regulatory policies and a transparent tax framework to support sustainable growth in the digital asset sector.
“Licenses and surveillance should be implemented for cryptocurrency exchanges, guards, portfolio providers and decentralized financing platforms to ensure financial integrity.”
According to official sources, Pakistan is currently hosting around 40 million cryptographic portfolios, placing it among the most active digital asset markets in the world.
“Globally, countries adopt various virtual asset approaches,” adds Khaqan.
“While China maintains a strict prohibition, Singapore, Switzerland and water create support ecosystems thanks to clear guidelines and regulatory sandboxes.
“The EU standardizes the rules between the Member States.
“Japan and Australia classify cryptocurrencies as legal property and work on complete executives, including LMA / CFT obligations and tax policies.”
“With a young and informed population, Pakistan should invest in Web 3.0 education, AI and skills development to empower young people and promote innovation,” explains Khaqan.
Icarus flight?
The concerns of the country’s crypto objectives emerged mainly after the government declared to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly that the treatment of cryptocurrencies was still prohibited across the country.
The government’s metaphorical journey between crypto as a legal currency and a general ban on virtual and digital assets has made government experts in government capacity to regulate money.
The Director of Research in the Carture Topline Securities Shankar Talreja brokerage company thinks that the regulation of the crypto is quite difficult … because these regulations should comply with the FATF and IMF directives.
“Due to the nature -free nature of cryptos, it can be exploited, if it is not regulated or poorly regulated.”
“Pakistan is also marking as a potential center for digital energy industries, including Bitcoin data centers and AI.
“The country recently allocated 2000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to support Bitcoin extraction and AI data centers.
“But this daring decision has aroused tax criticisms who think that the cryptography council could fly too close to the sun.”
They argue that, given the country’s dependence on costly energy sources such as LNG and coal, Bitcoin extraction is financially unbearable without government grants. This leads the country to a wrestling situation.
If government documents are approved, it could increase electricity costs for ordinary citizens and small businesses. Electricity rates being already unbearable, the system is becoming more and more non -viable. Power shortages are looming and ordinary citizens are preparing for another tariff hiking cycle. And if this is not the case, the country will face high operational costs.
An energy expert, who spoke under the cover of anonymity, explains: the current replacement electricity production uses imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a cost of approximately 10 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
This, he says, is much higher than the operating cost of less than 1 hundred per kWh for the geothermal factories used in the operation of Bitcoin in many countries. “Is it economically viable to extract Bitcoin [in Pakistan]? “”
But the current crisis goes far beyond energy, according to the expert. Pakistan does not have the necessary consistency for long -term projects, according to him.
“Several projects in the Chinese-Pakistani Economic Corridor (CPEC), once praised as a transformative initiative, have been abandoned,” he added.
“It is not only mismanagement; It’s a model, ”he adds.
Experts also underlined internal disagreements on the country’s resources. “The minerals, including many critical and precious, have been sold at auction at disposable prices, often acquired by politically connected elites,” explains the energy expert. Consider growing evidence of economic repression in regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balutchistan, where local populations are often the first to bear the weight of extractive policies and negligence. “How can Pakistan move forward?” He said.
The long -term path
Najeeb thinks that the surplus of Pakistan electricity offers an opportunity for Bitcoin exploitation and the blockchain data centers led by the private sector.
“A commercially viable framework for the supply of electricity of marginal costs can be developed, considering current energy costs and the challenges of infrastructure.”
He also advises to set up a dedicated authority which could be entrusted with the “license, surveillance and promotion of the tokenization of national assets and government debt, unlocking new paths for digital finance and exports.
“While new technologies include inherent risks and are not cure, Pakistan must strengthen institutional capacity, enforce compliance and educate consumers to mitigate fraud and systemic risks, thus exploiting the blockchain and the economic potential of the AI.”
“Cryptocurrency gains must be treated as capital gains tax assets, providing clarity and equity that encourage compliance and will help formalize the large informal crypto market. As a beneficiary of the biggest discounts – more than $ 35 billion per year. Add.
Per Naeem Ilyas Khanani, CEO of Magna Engineering PVT LTD, the independent system and the market operator (ISMO) could provide an era of “transparency, competition and efficiency”.
“”[In 2024, the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) approved the formation of the ISMO].
In its case study on how ISMO can transform the energy sector of Pakistan, Khanani explains that the effective ISMO market mechanisms can facilitate optimized allocation and management of [the country’s surplus power]make these operations more viable and more profitable ”.
He adds that stable energy and competitive prices and a compliant digital asset ecosystem creates an attractive environment for global intersing and crypto companies to invest and establish operations in Pakistan.
“This ecosystem, supported by key regulatory organizations such as SECP, SBP, PCC, DAAP and Blockchain Layer 1 technologies like NextGen, contributes directly to direct digital investment (DFDI).
“The intermediary of the AI and the crypto can be considered as a form of export of computing power,” adds Khanani.
By providing the necessary energy infrastructure and regulatory clarity, Pakistan has the possibility of becoming a key player in these global digital industries, generating substantial export income.
According to Khanani, the regulatory framework conforms facilitated by ISMO, in particular in fields such as renewable energy certificates (RECS) and carbon credits, opens the way to the creation and export of new digital asset classes, diversifying the Pakistan export portfolio.
Whether Pakistan soar or stands in the digital economy will not only depend on ambition – but alignment, responsibility and a clear vision of its limits.
Aimen Siddiqui is responsible for Business Desk at News International.
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