Pakistan’s digital assets policy is being led by a tech entrepreneur, not a career regulator, and the world is paying attention. Bilal Bin Saqib, a British-Pakistani businessman and the founding chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), sits at the heart of a fast-moving reform effort that the International Business Times says reflects a broader global shift in how governments handle technology-driven change.
Why Pakistan Digital Assets Policy Looks Different
Most governments hand financial regulation to career civil servants and committees. Pakistan digital assets policy took a different path. When roughly 40 million Pakistanis were already trading digital assets with zero rules, zero protection, and zero benefit flowing back to the state, the government decided speed and technical knowledge mattered more than institutional tradition.
Pakistan’s response was to hand the virtual assets file to a young technology entrepreneur rather than another committee of career regulators, a signal that these are not just regulatory questions. Governments are increasingly hiring technology entrepreneurs instead of career bureaucrats to lead digital transformation, from Ukraine’s Mykhailo Fedorov to Pakistan’s Bilal Bin Saqib, a new generation of builder-politicians reshaping finance, defence, AI, and public policy.
The comparison between the two countries involves vastly different policy arenas, but points to a common challenge facing governments as artificial intelligence, digital finance, and autonomous systems develop faster than conventional state institutions can respond.
Who Is Bilal Bin Saqib?
Bilal Bin Saqib, born in July 1990, is a British-Pakistani businessman who has served as chairman of PVARA and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council since 2025. He holds a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and was appointed Minister of State for Digital Assets to lead national efforts in developing a regulatory framework and strategy for cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption.
A significant development in his global standing was his inclusion in the World Economic Forum’s Steering Committee on Digital Asset Regulations, strengthening Pakistan’s presence in global policy discussions on digital asset governance.
He also held a meeting with Bo Hines, Executive Director of President Trump’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, with discussion centered on global coordination of crypto policy and Pakistan’s plans to become a regional hub for Web3 innovation.
The Regulatory Framework Built in Months
The pace of change has been striking. The Virtual Assets Ordinance 2025, signed by President Zardari on July 8, 2025, set out the regulatory framework in which virtual assets and service providers would be licensed, regulated, and supervised, with PVARA formed shortly after to oversee it.
Then came further consolidation. The State Bank of Pakistan announced a significant policy change by legalising and encouraging the use of virtual assets through the enactment of the Virtual Assets Act 2026, with PVARA established as the statutory authority responsible for the licensing, regulation, supervision, and oversight of virtual asset activities in Pakistan.
Modelled on global best practices from Dubai’s VARA, Singapore’s MAS, and the EU’s MiCA framework, PVARA aims to make Pakistan one of the first emerging markets with a comprehensive licensing framework for virtual asset service providers.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to make an internationally aligned virtual assets regulatory system fully operational. The government also launched a regulatory sandbox for controlled testing of emerging financial technologies, including AI-powered payments and regulated virtual asset services, a push driven in part by Pakistan’s large remittance market and rapidly expanding use of digital financial services.
The Numbers Behind the Push
The scale of the opportunity is hard to ignore. Analysts say Pakistan’s attempts to tap into its growing crypto market, crack down on money laundering, and promote responsible innovation could bring an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets into the tax net.
Pilot projects covering licensing, mining, and tokenization have been launched for major exchanges, with billions of dollars expected to be attracted through mining, tokenization, and Web3 development in the next few years. Pakistan also has over 20 gigawatts of surplus electricity, which could be turned into digital export through Bitcoin mining and AI.
Blockchain technology has the potential to reshape not only the financial sector but also governance, supply chain management, and transparency, with Pakistan moving towards aligning itself with this transformation through a clear regulatory and policy framework.
Pakistan’s approach to crypto and virtual assets is not happening in isolation. If you want to understand the broader picture, our earlier coverage on Pakistan ranking third globally in crypto adoption and the more recent story on crypto bank accounts now open for licensed firms show how far the country has moved in a very short time.
What This Means for Young Pakistanis
With a population of around 240 million, nearly 70 percent of whom are young people, Pakistan can no longer depend only on a traditional economic model, and is moving toward a modern digital economy driven by innovation, with the government aiming to empower youth by turning them from simple users of digital tools into creators and leaders of the new economy.
Beyond regulation, Bilal Bin Saqib has become a vocal advocate for leveraging AI, quantum computing, and robotics to reshape Pakistan’s economic trajectory, arguing that the country’s advantage lies not in competing with legacy institutions but in leapfrogging into the future by building AI-native and tech-forward governance systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PVARA and what does it do?
PVARA is an autonomous federal regulatory body established under the Virtual Assets Ordinance 2025 to license, regulate, and supervise virtual asset services and service providers across Pakistan. It sits under the Ministry of Finance and is the sole body responsible for overseeing the country’s digital assets sector.
Why did Pakistan choose a tech entrepreneur to lead digital assets policy?
The government felt that fast-moving digital finance needs people who understand technology from the inside. Stablecoins, tokenised assets, blockchain rails, and AI-driven financial systems are doing to finance what the internet did to communications, Pakistan’s response was to hand the virtual assets file to a young technology entrepreneur, signalling that these are competitiveness questions, not just regulatory ones.
Is Pakistan’s digital assets approach being noticed globally?
Yes. Pakistan’s decision to put a technology entrepreneur at the centre of its digital assets regime is being cited as part of a broader international shift, with the International Business Times drawing a parallel between Pakistan’s approach and Ukraine’s experiment with technology-driven government. PVARA’s chairman also sits on the World Economic Forum’s Steering Committee on Digital Asset Regulations.
How does this affect ordinary Pakistanis?
Ordinary Pakistanis who were already trading crypto in a grey market now have a formal, protected system to operate in. Efforts are underway to bring the digital assets sector out of the informal economy and integrate it into the formal financial system, through a policy framework built in collaboration with educational institutions, industry stakeholders, and subject experts. For everyday users, that means consumer protection, legal clarity, and the possibility of using digital assets through licensed banks and exchanges.