Key takeaways:
- The minister of state has announced a cryptocurrency prohibition for finance and taxation in Pakistan. The legislation banning cryptocurrency is being written by the Central Bank of Pakistan and others.
- Pakistan has good reasons to desire to maintain its good standing internationally after being removed from the FATF’s grey list in October.
The country would forbid the functioning of cryptocurrency services and would never legalize cryptocurrency transactions, according to Pakistan’s State Minister of State for Finance and Taxation.
According to reports from independentturdu, Pakistan would prohibit cryptocurrency services from functioning there and will never legalize cryptocurrency trading, according to Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on May 16. Sohail Jawad, Director of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and other representatives spoke in favor of the choice. Aisha stated:
“Crypto is a high-risk asset that no one benefits from. Major countries are now scrapping crypto. We recommend that cryptocurrencies be banned. Cryptocurrency will never be legalized in Pakistan.”
Aisha said that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which eliminated Pakistan from its “grey list” in October, had made prohibiting cryptocurrencies one of its prerequisites. The grey list includes nations the organization deems to lack adequate anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures but are collaborating with it to address their deficiencies.
FATF cannot impose sanctions on non-compliant nations, but its recommendations will likely affect corporate and governmental policy worldwide. A clean report from the FATF may be a political priority given that Pakistan’s economy is in a severe crisis and is now involved in contentious bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
The Central Bank of Pakistan and others are writing laws banning the practice. The prohibition will bar residents of Pakistan from transacting in any cryptocurrencies. According to Sohail, the cryptocurrency market has decreased from $2.8 trillion to $1.2 trillion.
Pakistani individuals are said to have adopted cryptocurrencies relatively quickly; it is estimated that by 2021, they will own $20 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. But governmental opposition to cryptocurrencies is nothing new. Since January, the SBP has apparently been requesting a crypto ban. Pakistan has adopted a nationwide blockchain Know Your Customer network and wants to introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency in 2025.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, recently declared Central Bank Digital Currencies illegal in the state. The measure also shields Floridians against this summer’s anticipated launch of a digital currency by the Federal Reserve.
