SBP to launch pilot for digital currency, says governor

Govt formally approves Virtual Assets Act, 2025

SINGAPORE: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said on Wednesday the institution plans to launch a pilot for a digital currency and is finalising legislation to regulate virtual assets as the government ramps up efforts to modernise the country’s financial system.
At a summit in Singapore, Ahmad said Pakistan was “building up our capacity on the central bank digital currency” and hoped to roll out a pilot soon.
He was speaking on a panel alongside Sri Lanka’s central bank governor, P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, with both discussing monetary policy challenges in South Asia.
Ahmad said a new law would “lay down the foundations for the licensing and regulation” of the virtual assets sector and that the central bank was in touch with some tech partners.
The move builds on efforts by the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), set up in March by the government to drive virtual asset adoption.
Ahmad said the SBP would continue to maintain a tight policy stance to stabilise inflation within its 5–7 per cent medium-term target.
Pakistan has cut its benchmark rate from a peak of 22pc to 11pc over the past year, as inflation slumped from 38pc in May 2023 to 3.2pc in June, averaging 4.5pc in the 2025 fiscal year just ended, a nine-year low.
“We are now seeing the results of this tight monetary policy transfer, both on our inflation as well as on the external account,” he said.
Ahmad said Pakistan was not overly exposed to dollar weakness, noting its foreign debt was mostly dollar-denominated and only 13pc comprised Eurobonds or commercial loans.
“We don’t see any major impact,” he said, adding that reserves had risen to $14.5 billion from under $3bn two years ago.
Ahmad said Pakistan’s three-year $7bn IMF programme, which runs through September 2027, was on track and had resulted in reforms in fiscal policy, energy pricing and the foreign exchange market.
“We are confident that after that [IMF programme], maybe we will not require an immediate [follow-up].”
Asked whether Pakistan had financing plans lined up for upcoming military equipment purchases, particularly imports from China, the SBP governor said he was not aware of such plans.
Earlier on Wednesday, the government formally approved the Virtual Assets Act, 2025, following endorsements from the federal cabinet, the prime minister and the president, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
The law establishes the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA), an autonomous federal body empowered to licence, regulate and supervise entities dealing in virtual assets, according to a press release issued by the office of the special assistant on blockchain and cryptocurrency.–Agencies