LONDON: Pakistan’s rapid efforts to regulate virtual assets emerge as one of the fastest reforms in the global digital finance landscape, positioning the country as a serious and credible participant in the next phase of financial innovation, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Bilal Bin Saqib said.
Speaking in an interview in London, Bilal said Pakistan had acted decisively to bring structure, oversight and legitimacy to a sector that had long operated without a formal framework, despite its scale and widespread adoption.
He cited recent visits to Pakistan by Steve Witkoff, representatives of World Liberty Financial, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, and TRON founder Justin Sun as proof of the global community’s receptivity to Pakistan’s efforts to modernize its digital financial ecosystem.
“These commitments are not symbolic,” he said. “They indicate that Pakistan is now being taken seriously as a jurisdiction that understands both the risks and opportunities of digital assets.”
Bilal, who previously advised an international crypto firm linked to the Trump administration, World Liberty Financial, while based in London, said his experience working with global institutions was instrumental in projecting Pakistan as a credible and forward-looking market.
Bilal highlighted Pakistan’s underlying fundamentals, including its young, tech-literate population and large user base, as reasons why regulatory clarity has become a strategic necessity rather than a choice.
“For years this market existed without rules,” he said. “The real risk was doing nothing. We are now rapidly building safeguards, systems and institutions.”
He also clarified that his role within PVARA is entirely voluntary. “It’s about building national capacity,” he said. “Pakistani youth should not be limited to low-value roles in global digital economies. We must enable it to build, innovate and create value within Pakistan.
According to Bilal, Pakistan already ranks among the largest crypto markets in the world, a reality that highlights the urgency for regulation. PVARA’s mandate, he explained, is to convert scale into credibility by aligning national supervision with international standards in anti-money laundering, consumer protection and market integrity.
“PVARA represents the first comprehensive attempt to restore order to a space that has expanded faster than the state’s capacity to respond,” he said. “Currently, we license exchanges with a risk-based approach that protects users while enabling responsible innovation.”
He said the governance of rapidly evolving digital markets must evolve alongside technology, including artificial intelligence. PVARA, he explained, is being structured to systematically use AI in licensing, supervision and market surveillance procedures, ensuring that regulatory processes evolve at the pace of innovation.
He added that Pakistan issued its first no-objection certificates to crypto exchanges in less than five months, a process that took almost two years in many comparable jurisdictions. “Speed matters,” he said. “Capital, talent and platforms are evolving rapidly. Regulation must be able to keep pace.”
Reflecting on his personal journey, Bilal said his approach to policy-making and strategy was shaped during his years in the UK, where he worked as a consultant.
Bilal is an alumnus of the London School of Economics, where he was awarded the title of Most Commended Master’s Student of the Year. During his Masters in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at LSE, he also held the role of Sabbatical Leave Manager.
During the Covid-19 lockdowns, he played a leading role in the One Million Meals campaign for frontline workers, an effort which earned him national recognition in the UK, including the Points of Light Award and the Membership of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Bilal was also included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his contributions to entrepreneurship and innovation.
Asked about his political ambitions, Bilal said he remained firmly focused on building systems rather than maintaining power. “I work on creating frameworks that outlast individuals,” he said. “Once the institutions are functional, you move on and build the next one.”
He concluded by saying that digital asset reforms in Pakistan are still in their early stages, but the direction is clear. “It’s about preparing the country for the future,” he said. “We lay the foundations, not after the headlines.”
