Pakistan Constructs Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Amid Booming Crypto Market
Pakistan's government is taking a strategic approach to Bitcoin by building a vault for it. The initiative, spearheaded by Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), aims to formalize the country's seized digital assets into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The reserve strategy involves transitioning state-held digital assets into a national wallet, managed through a governance framework that prioritizes transparency and accountability. This move is part of a larger digital overhaul in Pakistan, which includes redirecting surplus electricity toward Bitcoin mining and AI data center operations.
Pakistan's government has made significant strides in regulating the virtual asset market, with the enactment of the Virtual Assets Act 2026 and the establishment of PVARA. The authority has also built a licensing portal for virtual asset service providers on a budget of approximately $200,000, accounting for about 8% of its total budget.