Pakistani Crypto Market Booms to Third-Largest Status Globally

Pakistan has emerged as the world's third-largest crypto market, according to Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib. He told the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat that around 40 million Pakistanis hold cryptocurrency-linked accounts.

Saqib estimated Pakistan's virtual-asset market at $250 billion, with between $10 billion and $20 billion of Pakistani money invested in the sector. Most users are below the age of 40, he said.

PVARA has established its virtual-asset regulatory framework within five months, one of the fastest such regimes in the world, Saqib said. The regulator is working with the State Bank of Pakistan to identify more cost-effective remittance channels and shift virtual-asset activity into the regulated financial system.