Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority Bilal Bin Saqib says Pakistan has established a comprehensive regulatory framework for virtual assets in less than six months.

Addressing the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, he said the feat was achieved with limited resources and by utilizing only eight percent of the approved budget, while ninety-two percent was returned to the national exchequer.

He said Pakistan has created a formal regulatory pathway for digital asset businesses, covering activities including exchanges, custody, brokerage and asset management. He said the framework incorporates requirements relating to anti-money laundering, counter-terror financing, consumer protection and cybersecurity.

He said Pakistan will now focus on emerging areas including tokenized markets, programmable payments and stablecoins, while also developing regulations for agentic payments and the emerging agentic economy.

Bilal Bin Saqib's address at the Bitcoin Asia conference drew international attention, with Pakistan's fast, technology-driven and cost-effective governance model receiving global recognition.

Under his leadership, Pakistan is rapidly emerging as a global leader in virtual asset regulation, making significant progress in the digital assets sector within a short period and with limited resources.

Pakistan's regulatory efforts have also attracted growing attention from international media and digital asset industry stakeholders.