Islamabad: The Minister of State in Crypto and Blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, met the best American legislators this week and the mayor of New York to strengthen cooperation on digital assets, blockchain regulations and financial innovation.
The minister had discussions with senator Cynthia Lummis, a key architect of American cryptography legislation, as well as the Senators Bill Hagerty, Rick Scott, Tim Sheehy and Jim Justice in Washington, DC.
Mr. SAQIB is also committed to the members of the Chamber’s Financial Services Committee and the White House advisers, according to a press release published on Friday.
He said Pakistan was “here to direct” the world of crypto and blockchain.
“From Capitol Hill to the White House, I shared a new face from Pakistan: one of the partnerships for young people, innovation and the world.”
SAQIB’s discussions with US officials have focused on recent Pakistan initiatives, including plans for a Bitcoin strategic reserve, a regulatory framework for virtual assets and an adoption of stablecoin to rationalize funds.
With $ 36 billion in annual funds and an independent booming sector, Pakistan was aimed at becoming a hub for responsible digital finance, the press release said.
Meeting with the mayor of New York
During a separate meeting with the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, Mr. Saqib discussed the challenges and approaches to the growth of the economy of digital assets on various and high potential markets, according to an official press release.
During the meeting, which took place at the official residence of Mayor Adam, the two leaders explored opportunities to develop knowledge sharing and capacity -building programs to promote innovation while guaranteeing regulatory compliance.
This meeting could open the way to establishing direct collaboration between the New York Crypto Council and Pakistan Crypto Council (CPC) – two organizations supported by the government determined to explore the potential web3 use cases for the public service, added the press release.
Mr. Saqib is the CEO of PCC.
In recent months, Pakistan has taken multiple initiatives to regulate and accelerate virtual assets.
The government has already set up the CPC and Pakistan Digital Authority Authority to regulate financial infrastructure based on blockchain in order to ensure the adoption of digital assets in accordance with FATF and managers.
A PCC meeting held earlier this month discussed the regulatory framework project for digital and virtual assets in Pakistan.
The meeting, chaired by the Minister of Finance, also discussed the creation of a technical committee including SBP representatives; Secp; Divisions of law and computer and telecommunications to examine the draft laws and propose a robust framework and a governance structure for digital assets.
Posted in Dawn, June 7, 2025
