The Financial Action Task Force has said it does “not require countries to indiscriminately ban virtual assets and virtual asset service providers,” after Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance and Revenue said crypto cannot be legalized due to conditions set by the watchdog.
Pakistan aims to produce 1 million AI-trained IT graduates by 2027
The policy framework showcases Pakistan’s willingness to integrate AI for public and national betterment. The country has set 15 targets with timelines ranging from 2023 to 2028.
Pakistan Announces Fresh Ban on Crypto, but Adoption as a Hedge Remains Popular
Pakistan’s government has hardened its stance against cryptocurrencies, with Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha saying they will “never be legalized in Pakistan.”
Pakistani finance minister says crypto will never be legal because of FATF
Pakistan was taken off the FATF gray list in October, and it has good reasons to want to stay in international good graces.
Pakistan banks agree on blockchain-based KYC system development
The blockchain-based national eKYC banking platform aims to strengthen Anti-Money Laundering capabilities while countering terror financing.
Pakistan launches new laws to expedite CBDC launch by 2025
The State Bank of Pakistan signed in new laws for Electronic Money Institutions — non-bank entities offering digital payment instruments — to ensure the timely issuance of a CBDC in the next three years.
Crypto Stories: Pakistani crypto billionaire wants his country to be less reliant on credit
A former reality TV host with millions of followers on YouTube became one of Pakistan’s biggest crypto proponents, and hopes to help his country shine again.
Law Decoded: First-mover advantage in a CBDC conversation, Jan. 10–17
Strong framing move by U.S. Representative Tom Emmer and a looming threat of another crypto ban in Asia: a digest of last week’s top crypto policy stories is here.
Pakistan’s president calls for more training in blockchain technology
Among the panel of experts that met with President Arif Alvi was Bitcoin Association founding president and Bitcoin SV advocate Jimmy Nguyen.
Pakistan’s central bank reportedly wants to ban crypto
Pakistan’s finance and law ministries are yet to make a decision on a potential blanket ban on crypto in the country.
Pakistan to investigate Binance for multi-million dollar crypto scam
The federal agency of Pakistan started a criminal investigation after receiving numerous complaints against an ongoing scam that involved misleading investors into sending funds from Binance wallets to unknown 3rd-party wallets.
Pakistanis have $20B in crypto assets, says head of local association
He called for the government to set up a Bitcoin policy, arguing that India already had some regulations in place.
Pakistani high court orders government to regulate crypto in three months
The SHC also asked for a report on deliberations surrounding crypto regulations within the same time period.
Blockchain Startup In Pakistan Dubbed Bazaar Secures $30 million In Funds
Bazaar Technologies, a Pakistani blockchain marketplace, successfully raised about $30M in Pakistani’s biggest Series A round.
An announcement made by Bazaar states that August 24th will be the closing of its raise. It also reveals that Singapore’s Wavemaker Partners and Silicon Valley-based Defy Partners were the leaders of the funding round.
Many other investors also participated in the funding round, including Japan’s Saison Capital, LinkedIn, Endeavor, and numerous present-day investors such as Alter Global and Indus Valley Capital.
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In Pakistan, Bazaar asserts that they are the leading Business-to-business marketplace group for small-scale merchants. They serve up to 750,000 merchants across 400 villages and towns.
The majority of those that make use of Bazaar are small-scale ‘mom-and-pop grocery stores known locally as “Kiryana Stores.” They buy stock from suppliers through this platform.
Bazaar’s round this period has grown its funding to $37.8 million. This figure grew from its $6.5M seed round of January 2021 after eight months of its launching and its pre-seed round of $1.3M in June 2020.
The seed-round was co-led by the Global Founders Capital based in Berlin. The seed round was the firm’s first Pakistani investment. Also, VC Indus Valley Capital is another partner in the June seed round last year.
Bazaar Seed Round Is The Largest In Pakistan
Furthermore, the data shows that this latest seed round is the largest of its kind ever raised in Pakistan at a startup level. As a result of this raise, Bazaar right now has a total of $7.8 million. This makes it the largest funded startup in all of Pakistan.
Furthermore, Bazaar also brought in top global and regional organizations as well as angel investors. For example, Wavemaker Partners based in Singapore, Early-stage VC S7V, Saudi’s Derayah Venture Capital, and Next Billion Ventures based in the United States participate in the seed round.
Hamza Jawaid and Saad Janda founded Bazaar in 2019. Janga was formerly the product manager of Careem, a local Uber subdivision, whereas Jawaid worked in McKinsey, a management consulting company.
In recent months, the Pakistani government has initiated strategic ways of building a better regulatory apparatus that will be permissive to the country’s crypto sector.
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The Pakistani Securities and Exchange Commission issued a consultation paper in November. The paper surveyed the advantages of cryptocurrency assets as well as tokenization. In addition, the paper also embraced the industry feedback regarding the development of local regulations.
In March, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Pakistani province, announced how it would manage two hydro-powered cryptocurrency mining farms for a government-supported mining pilot.
Featured image from Pixabay
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Crypto users demand reinstatement of Pakistani government adviser following sudden resignation
Zia Ullah Bangash’s potential departure from an important role in facilitating Pakistan’s regulatory environment for crypto had many threatening to withhold votes and demanding answers.
Pakistan’s central bank is ‘carefully studying’ CBDCs, says governor
State Bank of Pakistan governor Reza Baqir says the country is “waiting to burst as far as digitization is concerned.”
Pakistani province to pilot crypto mining farms
The Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will build two pilot cryptocurrency mining firms as part of a new state policy.
Meet Vitalik Buterin’s Mom. Her Mission Is Inclusion, Not Ethereum
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Pakistan Central Bank Eyes Digital Currency Launch by 2025
The State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s central bank, is reportedly considering launching a digital currency as part of a modernization drive.