The Ministry of Finance has announced the establishment of the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA) to regulate and accelerate the country’s virtual asset economy. This initiative aims to ensure FATF-compliant innovation, promote economic inclusion, and support the responsible adoption of digital assets.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, stated, “Pakistan must regulate not just to catch up ā but to lead. With the PDAA, we are creating a future-ready framework that protects consumers, invites global investment, and puts Pakistan at the forefront of financial innovation.”
The PDAA will serve as a specialized regulatory body overseeing licensing, compliance, and innovation within the digital asset ecosystem. It will regulate exchanges, custodians, wallets, tokenized platforms, stablecoins, and DeFi applications under a unified framework.
This strategic move aligns Pakistan with countries like the UAE, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which have established digital asset regulators to foster innovation while ensuring compliance with global financial norms.
The PDAA is expected to regulate a $25 billion+ informal crypto market, enable tokenization of national assets and government debt, provide legal clarity to investors, facilitate monetization of surplus electricity through regulated Bitcoin mining, and empower youth and startups to develop blockchain-based solutions at scale.
Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, commented, “This is not just about crypto ā itās about rewriting our financial future, expanding access, and creating new export channels through tokenization, digital finance, and Web3 innovation.”
