Ali Muhammad Khan, the State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs under Pakistan, stated that the respective government has no hostility regarding the utilization of cryptocurrencies by the country’s youth. On 20th October, the Pakistani parliament’s lower house highlighted the non-availability of a framework to regulate cryptocurrency. This encouraged the State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs to confirm the position held by the government. On the very day, the government operating in Islamabad was pushed by the Sindh High Court to establish a framework of regulation. A committee has also been made by the court to be led by the secretary of finance for conducting a study over cryptocurrency. It mentioned that a report should be provided by the committee during the coming three months.
It occurred recently that a careless attitude regarding the regulation of cryptocurrency became a reason for the government to allure the global watchdog for money laundering, called “the Financial Action Task Force.” It was alerted because the potential terrorism financing and money laundering could go unchecked. In 2018, a ban was imposed by the Pakistani central bank over cryptocurrencies. The bank specified that one coin, pakcoin, Bitcoin, as well as the tokens based on the ICOs (initial coin offerings) were not treated as legal tender. Consequently, the ban was comprehensive and did not permit any individual or entity to purchase, sell, issue, or exchange virtual currency.
Courts in Pakistan prove to be influential
The courts in Pakistan have played an influential role in pushing crypto adoption further. After the ban in 2018, a petition was taken into consideration by the court. The petition urged the SECP (Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan), the SBP (the central bank), the Law and Justice Ministry, as well as the Information Technology and Communication Ministry to have a consultation with each other for a potential regulatory framework regarding cryptocurrencies. Another case related to cryptocurrency was filed under the High Court of Lahore, and the court required assistance from the Federal Investigation Agency, SBP, the federal government, and the SECP demanding them to clear their respective positions on the matter.
Role of social media in supporting cryptocurrencies
Notwithstanding the perplexing regulatory steps taken by the authorities in Pakistan, a craving for cryptocurrency has been expedited by social media to a large extent. The information regarding the purchase, mining, and trade of cryptocurrency is accessible through groups made on social media. Simultaneously, Waqar Zaka (a YouTuber who worked as a TV host formerly) has posted videos on his YouTube channel having more than 1M subscribers.