The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday instructed the government to commence the regulation of cryptocurrencies within three months and form a high-level committee under the leadership of the federal secretary of finance to oversee the matter.
The SHC was hearing a petition that challenged the ban on cryptocurrencies. Apart from the petitioners, the proceedings were attended by members of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
During the hearing, the high court further asked for a report pertaining to the matter in three months. The court said that measures should be taken to regulate cryptocurrencies in consultation with all stakeholders, including representatives of, the Ministry of Law, the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and the Ministry of IT.
Similarly, the Lahore High Court (LHC) also heard a case regarding cryptocurrencies with lawyers for the parties, including the SECP, SBP, FIA, and the federal government in attendance at the court.
The court sought legal assistance from all the relevant institutions pertaining to the matter and ordered the institutions to submit legal points regarding the currency in the court after a meeting.
The head of the SBP Reza Baqir said in April that the institution was studying cryptocurrencies and their potential of bringing off the book transactions under a regulatory framework.
Pakistan-based social media groups which explain trading and mining of digital currencies have garnered huge followings on Facebook. Similarly, YouTube has recorded hundreds of thousands of views on videos in Urdu regarding cryptocurrencies.
Hundreds of Pakistani traders are listed on online cryptocurrency exchanges usually the ones based outside of Pakistan such as Localbitcoins.com.
According to web analytics company SimilarWeb, Apps like Binance and Binomo which track and trade cryptocurrency activity have more downloads than some of Pakistan’s largest banks’ apps.
