ISLAMABAD (Reuters) — As the government cranks up efforts to upgrade the country’s financial system, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad announced on Wednesday that the institution intends to start a pilot for a digital currency and is completing legislation to regulate virtual assets.
Central banks across the world are looking at the usage of digital currencies as interest in blockchain-based payments develops. Pakistan’s action comes after regulators in China, India, Nigeria, and other Gulf governments have taken similar moves to test or issue digital currencies under restricted pilot schemes.
At the Reuters NEXT Asia meeting in Singapore, Ahmad stated that Pakistan was “building up our capacity on the central bank digital currency” and planned to launch a prototype shortly.
He was speaking on a panel with Sri Lanka’s central bank governor, P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, about monetary policy difficulties in South Asia.
Ahmad stated that a new legislation will “lay the groundwork for the licensing and regulation” of the virtual asset industry, and that the central bank was in contact with several technology partners.
The action expands on the work of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), which was established by the government in March to promote virtual asset use.
Bilal bin Saqib, PCC CEO and state minister for blockchain and crypto, said today that the government has adopted the Virtual Assets Act 2025, which establishes an independent regulator to regulate and manage the crypto sector.
The PCC is looking at bitcoin mining with spare energy, has engaged Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as a strategic consultant, and intends to construct a state-run Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
It has also conducted discussions with US-based cryptocurrency businesses, including World Liberty Financial, which is related to US President Donald Trump.
In May, the SBP reaffirmed that virtual assets are not unlawful. However, it encouraged financial institutions not to interact with them until a proper licensing system was established.
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