Our crypto delusion
On May 30, 2025, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued a statement that should have ignited a national debate. Instead, it was received with relief.
In carefully measured prose, the SBP clarified that its 2018 circular restricting banks and financial service providers from engaging with virtual assets (VAs) such as cryptocurrencies did not, in fact, constitute a ban.
It simply instructed “regulated entities” to refrain from crypto-related business pending the development of a legal framework.
The statement further emphasised that it had never declared…
