Pakistan has launched a regulatory framework for virtual assets in less than six months while spending only about 8% of the budget allocated for the initiative, according to Bitcoin Magazine.
Bilal bin Saqib, minister of state and chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), said around $200,000 was used to build and operationalize the new regulatory framework, leaving about 92% of the approved budget unspent.
Speaking at Bitcoin Asia in Hong Kong on Aug. 28, he said the government should focus on outcomes rather than expenditure. “We used only 8% of our approved budget to get this done,” he said. “Government should not measure success by how much money it spends. It should measure success by how much it delivers,” he added.
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Pakistan moved from primary legislation to notified regulations and a live licensing regime in under six months, creating a formal pathway for companies operating in the digital asset sector. The framework covers activities including virtual asset exchanges, custody, brokerage, asset management, lending and settlement. It also introduces requirements related to corporate governance, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, customer asset protection, cybersecurity and market conduct.
The regulatory rollout marks a significant move toward bringing Bitcoin and other digital asset activities into Pakistan’s formal financial system while providing companies with a clearer framework for operating in the country.
Smaller teams, faster delivery
Saqib said the PVARA initiative also demonstrated how governments could adapt their operating models as technology develops at an increasingly rapid pace. Rather than establishing a large bureaucracy, the authority relied on smaller teams and technology-driven workflows to develop and operationalize the regulatory regime.
“Technology is moving at machine speed. Government has to learn how to move much faster without compromising structure, accountability or consumer protection,” he said, stressing the importance of balancing rapid implementation with institutional safeguards.
“Speed without structure can be dangerous. But structure without speed can become irrelevant,” he said.
Pakistan is seeking to position itself not only as an adopter of emerging financial technologies but also as a participant in developing new financial infrastructure, Bitcoin Magazine reported.
Focus extends beyond digital assets
Saqib said Pakistan’s ambitions extend beyond the current virtual asset market toward an economy increasingly shaped by tokenized markets, programmable payments, stablecoins, machine-to-machine commerce and artificial intelligence.
The emergence of A.I. agents capable of conducting transactions on behalf of individuals, companies or other machines could create new regulatory challenges involving financial authority, identity, compliance and consumer protection. “Today we are regulating virtual asset service providers,” he said. “Tomorrow we will need regulation around agentic payments and the agentic economy.”
He described the virtual asset regulatory framework as an initial building block for a broader future financial ecosystem.
Building at the frontier
Pakistan, with a population exceeding 240 million, could represent a significant market for emerging financial technologies. Saqib said emerging economies should not necessarily wait for technologies to mature in larger markets before adopting or helping develop them.
“Emerging markets do not have to spend the next decade catching up. We can build at the frontier,” he said.
The immediate challenge for PVARA would be to determine whether the new licensing and regulatory regime could attract legitimate digital asset businesses while maintaining effective consumer protections, financial safeguards and regulatory oversight.
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Pakistan’s transition from legislation to an operational licensing framework in less than six months is being presented as a model for a faster and more technology-driven approach to government implementation. As digital assets, artificial intelligence and programmable finance increasingly converge, Pakistan is seeking to apply the same approach to the development of next-generation financial infrastructure.