HONG KONG: Pakistan is preparing to embrace emerging technologies and the digital economy, Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Bilal Bin Saqib said on Saturday.
Addressing the Bitcoin Asia Conference in Hong Kong, Bilal said Pakistan was moving forward to understand new financial and technological developments and build its capacity to benefit from them.
He said Pakistan had established a regulatory framework for virtual assets in less than six months, while using only 8% of the budget allocated for the initiative.
According to Bilal, around $200,000 was spent on developing and operationalising the new regulatory framework, leaving approximately 92% of the approved budget unused.
He said Pakistan’s objective behind its Bitcoin strategic reserve initiative was not to purchase large quantities of Bitcoin. Instead, the country wanted to prepare itself for the evolving global financial system and emerging technologies.
Bilal said the development of a regulatory framework reflected Pakistan’s efforts to create a structured environment for virtual assets while strengthening the country’s readiness for future financial and technological changes.
