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The authorities in Pakistan allegedly took measures to seize hundreds of bank accounts and cards belonging to cryptocurrency merchants. According to local media, they were allegedly used to conduct transactions worth close to $300,000 through digital asset exchanges, including major platforms.
Pakistan Government Blocks Cards Used to Purchase Crypto-currency, Media Reveals.
bank accounts in the names of 1,064 individuals have been frozen by pakistan’s federal investigation agency (fia). The law enforcement authority acted at the request of the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre (ccrc) in Islamabad, the Pakistani observer informed readers on Wednesday.
Officials claim the accounts have been utilized to process transactions worth a total of 51 million pakistani rupees (around $288,000) made by persons to and from a number of crypto exchanges, including well-known platforms like binancy, coinbase, and coinmama.
The agency also blocked their credit cards used to purchase and sell digital pieces, the publication added. it also reminded residents that the state bank of pakistan (sbp) prohibited the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies with a circular issued by its banking policy and regulation department in april 2018.
Despite the ban, however, cryptos like Bitcoin have benefited from the increasing popularity among investors in the country. according to an estimate from a recently published report by the federation of pakistan chambers of commerce and industry (fpcci), pakistanis hold $20 billion worth of cryptocurrency.
In a news conference last week, fpcci chairman nasir hayat magoon noted that the quoted valuation of the digital currency held by the pakistanis is based on research carried out by the association's political advisory board. In reality, the true total of crypto holdings may be much higher, as many Pakistanis buy coins via peer-to-peer deals that remain undetected.
magoon also called on the government to introduce a relevant policy to regulate and facilitate crypto-related transactions, pointing out that the regional rival, india, has already taken steps to implement some rules for the sector. his association recommends the adoption of a legal framework aligned with the guidelines issued by international organizations such as fatf and imf.
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