Pakistan ranks third globally in crypto

Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo

Pakistan has emerged as the world's third-largest cryptocurrency market, with around 40 million Pakistanis holding crypto accounts.

Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Pvara) Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib on Monday told the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat that Pakistani youth had developed an understanding of digital currencies and were seeking greater economic independence.

The committee, chaired by Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan, discussed the growing trend of digital currencies as well as the pricing and taxation of imported mobile phones.

Highlighting a significant gap between the number of crypto users and registered taxpayers in the country, Bilal said Pakistan had around 40 million crypto accounts, while the total number of active taxpayers stood at approximately six million.

Talking with reference to Pvara, he said the authority had been established to bring digital currency users into the tax net and regulate the rapidly expanding virtual assets sector.

He said the authority was recruiting permanent staff and had so far utilised only eight per cent of the budget allocated to it by the government. "Pakistan aims to become a global leader in Islamic finance through digital assets and plans to bring remittances from abroad onto digital platforms," he said.