Arif Alvi – the existing president of Pakistan – has reportedly urged for more in-depth training regarding emerging techs, including blockchain artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. 

Specifically, during the meeting with a delegation of blockchain professionals, Alvi reportedly claimed that Pakistan’s talent pool needs to have preparations to satisfy the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which includes taking advantage of blockchain in the public and private sectors. 

Per the Pakistan president, the authority can reportedly utilize the tech as a tracking measure, bringing down corruption and amplifying transparency. 

Among the panel of professionals was Bitcoin SV advocate Jimmy Nguyen, founding president of the Bitcoin Association.

The meeting was reportedly held right before the Pakistan president disclosing details of the decision to have Noor Muhammad Dummar take up the role of the senior minister of finance for the nation’s Balochistan province. 

Pakistan’s federal ministries of finance and law have reportedly not made any regulatory decision on a potential blanketban of cryptocurrencies in the nation, but the State Bank of Pakistan has reportedly argued cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) do not have legal status and thus not open for public trading.

A report carried out by crypto analytics company Chainalysis in October last year reportedly revealed that Pakistan ranks 3rd in the list of countries with the highest adoption rate, following Vietnam and India, having completed over $10 million in transfers – approximately 28% of transactions nationwide. 

The nation’s central bank further revealed in 2021 that it was putting in resources to research the potential introduction of a Pakistan central bank digital currency.