FATF calls on Pakistan to regulate its booming crypto industry
The Financial Action Task Force has called on Pakistan to regulate its booming crypto industry. This comes as interest in crypto-investments and mining is increasing rapidly in the region. An article by Reuters reported that hundreds of people are eager to learn about crypto mining and trading.
This list includes housewives searching for a side hustle to wealthy investors hoping to invest in crypto mining hardware. Additionally, these people have little understanding of traditional stock markets but are hungry to profit.
Pakistan’s and the Crypto Regulation
While Pakistan has not banned cryptocurrency, the FATF has urged the government to regulate the business. Moreover, Pakistan is on the FATF’s grey list of nations under surveillance for failing to prevent terrorist financing and money laundering.
The Federal Government has responded by forming a group to explore cryptocurrency regulation. It comprises of FATF monitors, federal ministers, and chiefs of the country’s intelligence agencies.
Regarding this update, Ali Farid Khwaja, a partner at Oxford Frontier Capital and chairman of KASB Securities, a stock brokerage firm in Karachi stated:
“Half the members had no clue what it was and didn’t even want to understand it…But the good thing is someone set up this committee. The relevant bodies in the government who need to get things done are supporting it, and the promising thing is nobody wants to stand in the way of technical innovation.”
Furthermore, Reza Baqir the head of the country’s central bank in April stated that the authority was looking into another digital asset, a central bank digital currency, and its potential for bringing transactions happening off the books into a regulatory framework.
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