The government of Pakistan is considering legalizing digital currencies and updating the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act. If passed, the SBP would gain authority to regulate digital currency issuance and management. Additionally, the SBP plans to create a subsidiary dedicated to the development and management of digital payment systems.
The amendments also aim to boost compliance and governance within the SBP, with new penalties for the unauthorized issuance of digital currencies, and reporting of suspicious financial transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit-Netherlands (FIU-NL). This move comes after a directive from the Sindh High Court, which called for a comprehensive review of the regulation of crypto assets by various government bodies, including the SBP.
