Around 40 million Pakistanis now hold accounts linked to cryptocurrency, the chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), Bilal Bin Saqib, told the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, crediting the country's young population for making Pakistan the world's third-largest crypto market. Briefing the committee, which is chaired by Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan, Saqib said the State Bank of Pakistan's eight-year restriction on digital assets had frozen the country's ability to adapt to the technology.

Pakistan, he said, was not trying to promote cryptocurrency but to regulate an activity that had already gained significant traction among young people, noting that the UAE, Hong Kong and Thailand were pursuing similar initiatives. The committee took up a wide agenda at the meeting, including taxation on digital devices, 5G readiness, virtual-asset regulation, illegal migration, Islamabad Club membership, declaration of foreign citizenship by civil servants, and proposed rules on the use of social media by government employees.

The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat was informed that PVARA had established its virtual-asset regulatory regime within five months, describing it as one of the fastest such frameworks in the world. Bilal Bin Saqib estimated the size of Pakistan's virtual-asset market at $250 billion, with $10 billion to $20 billion of Pakistani money invested in the sector, and said the majority of users were below the age of 40. He noted that while India had imposed a 30 per cent tax on virtual assets, Pakistan was assessing the appropriate rate, warning that excessive taxation could drive investors and businesses offshore.

Saqib said virtual-asset activity was expanding globally, with the UAE, Hong Kong and Thailand pursuing regulatory frameworks. According to the PVARA Chairman, two international virtual-asset companies had been issued no-objection certificates, given until 5 September to complete registration, after which restrictions and enforcement action would begin against unregistered operators. The Senate Committee also sought clarity on religious concerns over cryptocurrency, where Senator Saadia Abbasi referred to statements by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, and Saqib stated he had conveyed the regulatory perspective to the scholar.