Pakistan decides to suspend online cryptocurrency services

KARACHI: The federal government has decided to ban cryptocurrency services available online in Pakistan, citing the potential risks for the country following its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

During a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha said that the government will never legalize cryptocurrency in Pakistan.

“State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the IT Ministry have started working on banning cryptocurrencies,” she said, adding that FATF has also imposed conditions and cryptocurrencies will not be allowed.

During the session, Senator Farooq Naek also concurred, highlighting that crypto trading was speculative in nature and should not be allowed.

“Billions of dollars of Pakistan have been invested in cryptocurrency,” Senator Salim Mandviwala told the meeting.

Addressing the concerns, SBP officials also said that cryptocurrency is a total fraud which will never be recognized in Pakistan.

In 2018, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) warned the commercial banks and general banks against the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Litecoin.

According to a notice issued by the central bank, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Pakcoin. OneCoin, DasCoin and Pay Diamond are neither recognized as a Legal Tender nor has SBP authorized or licensed any individual or entity for the issuance, sale, purchase, exchange, or investment in any such virtual currencies or tokens in Pakistan.