The central bank of Pakistan is planning to launch a digital currency, and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad announced that the country is already launching a pilot project for the same. The announcement came on Wednesday (July 9), in which the governor said that legislation is being finalised to regulate virtual assets. At the Reuters NEXT Asia summit in Singapore, Ahmad said Pakistan was “building up our capacity on the central bank digital currency” and hoped to roll out a pilot soon.
The governor said a new law would “lay down the foundations for the licensing and regulation” of virtual assets. Ahmad also said that the Pakistani central bank is in talks with some tech partners as well. This came just months after Pakistan set up the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC). The institution is exploring bitcoin mining using surplus energy and has appointed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as a strategic adviser. Pakistan is planning to establish a state-run bitcoin reserve.
In May of this year, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stated that virtual assets were not illegal. But advised financial institutions not to engage with them until a formal licensing framework was in place in the country.
“There are risks associated, and at the same time, there are opportunities in this new emerging field. So we have to evaluate and manage the risk very carefully, and at the same time not let go of the opportunity,” Ahmad said while speaking at the summit.