ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday announced establishing a Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA) to regulate and accelerate the Virtual Asset Economy compliant with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) safeguards.
In a statement, the Ministry of Finance said it was initiating a comprehensive strategy to regulate digital assets and accelerate the growth of Pakistan’s virtual asset economy. On the recommendations of the Pakistan Cryptocurrency Council (PCC), a dedicated body, ‘Pakistan Digital Assets Authority’, would regulate blockchain-based financial infrastructure to ensure the FATF-compliant innovation, economic inclusion, and responsible adoption of digital assets, it said.
“Pakistan must regulate not just to catch up — but to lead. With the PDAA, we are creating a future-ready framework that protects consumers, invites global investment, and puts Pakistan at the forefront of financial innovation,” said Finance Minister and PCC Chairman Muhammad Aurangzeb.
He said PDAA would serve as a specialised regulatory body with a clear mandate to oversee licensing, compliance, and innovation within the digital asset ecosystem. It will regulate exchanges, custodians, wallets, tokenised platforms, stablecoins, and DeFi applications — all under a single, agile framework.