Pakistan Reverses Course with Bold Crypto Regulation Push
Once firmly opposed to digital assets, Pakistan is now drafting a comprehensive crypto framework aimed at satisfying global compliance standards while fostering innovation.
The turnaround comes as the country’s financial watchdogs seek to align with FATF guidelines on anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing.
The Federal Investigation Agency is leading the charge, proposing rules centered on Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and oversight mechanisms. While the framework still awaits legislative approval, it marks a sharp pivot from just two years ago, when officials were calling for a full ban on crypto use.
This regulatory reset accelerated in early 2025 with the creation of the Pakistan Crypto Council—an initiative designed to attract investment, legitimize the industry, and support Web3 talent.
Council CEO Bilal Bin Saqib recently highlighted Pakistan’s potential as a low-cost innovation hub with a young, tech-driven population. One initiative even considers channeling surplus energy into Bitcoin mining.
In a high-profile move, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao was appointed as an adviser to the Council in April, underscoring the country’s desire to blend local ambition with global expertise.
Pakistan’s stance on crypto has shifted from resistance to reinvention—signaling that it now views digital finance as a strategic frontier rather than a threat.
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
