Head of Pakistan's Crypto Authority Calls for Ongoing Talks Following Islamic Scholar's Stance on Digital Currency Transactions
The chairman of Pakistan's digital asset regulatory body has emphasized the importance of sustained conversations regarding virtual currencies following discussions with a prominent Islamic scholar who endorsed a religious decree opposing cryptocurrency-based transactions.
Bilal bin Saqib, who chairs the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), has advocated for sustained conversations regarding how digital assets should be treated under Islamic jurisprudence following a meeting with well-known Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, who expressed support for a religious decree prohibiting transactions conducted with cryptocurrency.
Through a post made on Saturday, Saqib detailed that the conversation encompassed topics including blockchain technology, virtual assets, stablecoins and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), in addition to addressing the importance of safeguarding Pakistani citizens from fraudulent activities, exploitation and monetary losses.
According to Saqib, the various classifications of virtual assets require "careful technical assessment alongside rigorous Shariah examination, rather than being viewed through a single lens."
The dialogue underscores the friction between Pakistan's efforts to establish a regulated cryptocurrency marketplace and religious opposition that may influence how the public embraces digital assets. In Pakistan, religious perspectives may hold considerable influence, given that approximately 231.7 million individuals, representing 96.35% of the total population, self-identified as Muslim according to the 2023 census data.
Pakistan's crypto framework meets religious scrutiny
As reported by Pakistani news publication Dawn, Usmani joined five additional scholars in signing an Islamic legal decree released by Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, a respected Islamic educational institution, on Friday.
The decree allegedly stated that transactions conducted using cryptocurrency, including stablecoins like USDT, were impermissible under their understanding of Islamic law because digital tokens failed to meet the criteria for recognized property or wealth.
Saqib refrained from directly contesting the assertion. Rather, he urged scholars, regulatory officials and industry stakeholders to maintain ongoing discussions about the differences between various digital-asset classifications.
"I shared that blockchain, digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets represent a broad spectrum of technologies and use cases," he said.
The conversation unfolds as Pakistan transitions away from years of prohibitions toward establishing a licensed virtual-asset industry. On April 15, the State Bank of Pakistan granted banks permission to establish accounts for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) that have received licensing from the PVARA, bringing an end to an eight-year prohibition on regulated financial institutions engaging with cryptocurrency.
This development followed the enactment of Pakistan's Virtual Assets Act 2026 in March, which created PVARA as the official statutory authority charged with licensing and supervising virtual asset operations.