Around 40 million Pakistanis have cryptocurrency accounts, Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib told a Senate standing committee on Monday.

Speaking before the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, Saqib said Pakistan has become one of the world’s largest virtual asset markets, supported by its young population and sizeable freelance workforce.

He said Pakistan is among the leading countries in terms of its freelancer population and that the growing digital economy has contributed to widespread use of cryptocurrencies.

Saqib told lawmakers that nearly 40 million Pakistanis have crypto accounts. He said many of these accounts were created when the country did not have a comprehensive regulatory system for virtual assets.

The government is now working to bring cryptocurrency-related activities within a formal regulatory framework, he added.

Saqib said Pakistan is also studying regulatory models used by other countries as it develops its own rules for the virtual asset sector.

He pointed to Dubai and Thailand as examples of jurisdictions that have introduced frameworks for blockchain and virtual asset activities.

He added that blockchain is gaining wider use internationally, including in financial markets for applications such as bond issuance.