Pakistan’s Finance Minister Aisha Ghaus said the Asian country could not legalize cryptocurrency trading, citing its recent removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “Grey List”.
In an appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the minister noted that another reason the country could not legalize crypto was that it could be used for terrorism financing.
Pakistan was removed from the gray list in October 2022 after being added in 2018. The minister noted that the FATF imposed strict conditions on the use of cryptocurrencies before removing it from the list.
The FATF’s controversial “travel rule” required countries to collect and share information about crypto transactions to curb money laundering and other unauthorized uses.
Pakistan’s top bank’s anti-crypto stand
Meanwhile, the minister’s statement mirrors an earlier statement by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) that crypto was not legal tender or backed by the government.
This is reported by local media reports, SBP officials described cryptocurrencies as total fraud that would never be recognized in the country. They pointed to anti-crypto movements from major economies such as the US, China and Canada as a reason why the country should take a similar step.
The Senate standing committee directed the SBP and the Ministry of IT & Telecom to work on a ban on cryptocurrency trading. This would mean that the authorities would ban all cryptocurrencies related websites and services.
The move continues the global regulatory crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry following the massive drop in market capitalization and the fraudulent activities of some key participants.
Chainalysis ranked Pakistan among the top 10 countries with high crypto adoption in 2022.
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