Pakistan’s FPCCI says citizens have crypto assets valued at $20 billion

The President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Nasir Hayat Magoon, has stated that Pakistanis hold cryptocurrencies valued at around $20 billion.

During a press conference, Magoon stated that this value was derived from the FPCCI’s research report.

FPCCI’s president advocates for crypto regulations

Magoon urged the government to put policies to monitor cryptocurrency transactions. He stated that India had already unveiled these rules, so Pakistan needed to follow suit.

This is not the first time crypto regulations in Pakistan have been called for. On October 20, 2021, the highest judicial organization in Pakistan’s Sindh province, The High Court of Sindh (SHC), called the federal government to introduce policies regulating the crypto market.

The SHC issued an order to government organizations, including the Ministry of Information Technology and Law, to worth together with regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the country’s central bank to develop rules on cryptocurrencies within three months.

On the other hand, the SECP has been working on a crypto regulatory framework since late 2020. While clarity is yet to be developed, the country is recording an influx in crypto trading activities. The governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Reza Baqir, noted that the bank would analyze the possibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Growth in crypto in India and Pakistan

Chainalysis, an analytics platform that offers various services related to data, software and research, issued a report on the state of crypto adoption in Pakistan. In November, research published by Chainalysis opined that the crypto market in Pakistan had grown significantly over the past year.

The report noted that the crypto boom was derived from people in Pakistan who were interested in digital currencies. The Pakistani crypto market increased by 711% over the past year. It has become one of the leading markets in the European region and the Middle East.

The FPCCI president noted that the Indian crypto regulatory framework was more advanced than Pakistanis despite a slower crypto market growth rate. The Indian crypto market has reported a 641% growth over the past year.

However, India is taking the lead in terms of attracting crypto-related investments. The Chainalysis report stated that the amount of venture capital investments in India related to the crypto space had increased significantly.

Nevertheless, the looming crypto bill in India is affecting the growth of the crypto market. The bill was to be debated upon during India’s parliament winter session. However, its failure to be included in the agenda for the winter session has created some reprieve, given that the bill seeks to ban private cryptocurrencies in India.

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