đŸ’„BREAKING NEWSđŸ’„

Pakistan’s crypto deal with Binance & why Asim Munir, even ISI are ‘in the picture’

Islamabad’s embrace of crypto seems as political as it is economic, drawing in top military brass & the intelligence chief, even as Pakistan's banks warn of risks.

Pakistan is going all out on crypto, and it’s not merely an economic step but also a deeply political one in which the country’s military and intelligence seem involved too.

A day after he was elevated as the country’s most powerful commander yet, Army Chief and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir joined Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Asim Malik in a high-profile meeting in Islamabad with crypto firm Binance’s CEO Richard Teng.

Also seen with them was Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of the newly formed Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), who briefed them on Pakistan’s National Digital Assets Framework.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance later said that the meeting, which also had senior Binance executives in attendance, focused on building a “secure, transparent and innovation-driven digital asset ecosystem” in the country.