Pakistan appoints special assistant to PM on blockchain and crypto

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Pakistan Crypto Council CEO Bilal Bin Saqib as his special assistant on blockchain and crypto.

Saqib’s appointment takes effect immediately under Rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973. He has been granted the status of minister of state and will serve without salary or official benefits, according to a May 26 report in the English-language local news outlet, Pakistan Observer.

The move follows a series of government initiatives aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s presence in the digital asset space. Just one day prior, Pakistan allocated 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity exclusively for Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence centers.

In mid-May, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance also endorsed the creation of a dedicated body to regulate the country’s blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA) will serve as a regulatory body to oversee licensing, regulate exchanges, custodians, wallets, tokenized platforms, stablecoins and decentralized finance applications.

Related: Pakistan eyes crypto legal framework to boost foreign investment

Saqib is a graduate of the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom and received the title of Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from King Charles III. He currently leads the Pakistan Crypto Council, where he appointed former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao as an adviser. He was also named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

As a special assistant to the prime minister, Saqib will be tasked with drafting Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-compliant crypto regulations, launching state-backed Bitcoin (BTC) mining projects, and overseeing blockchain integration in governance, land records and finance. He will not receive a salary, perks or privileges, according to Pakistan Observer.

Related: Pakistan moves to regulate cryptocurrency, CBDCs as legal tender

Pakistan is diving headfirst into the crypto industry. In late April, the Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial has signed a Letter of Intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council to accelerate crypto adoption in the country, one of the industry’s fastest-growing markets.

Pakistani regulators recently proposed a regulatory framework for digital assets that is compliance-focused and in line with rules laid out by the FATF. Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Sumera Azam described the framework as a “paradigm shift in how Pakistan views digital finance.” “The policy proposal seeks to strike a historic balance between technological advancement and national security imperatives,” Azam said in April.

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