Pakistan urges UN to regulate digital assets

Pakistan urges UN to regulate digital assets

Pakistan has urged United Nations (UN) member states to move beyond discussions on digital assets and work together to establish regulatory frameworks for the next generation of global finance.

Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Bilal Bin Saqib made the remarks while delivering a keynote address virtually at the UN Headquarters during a session on “Digital Assets and Blockchain for Sustainable Development: Advancing Digital Finance through Innovation.”

He said digital assets, tokenisation and distributed ledger technologies could help developing economies build more inclusive, efficient and accessible financial systems.

“The question is not whether these technologies will scale, but who will shape them and in whose interest,” Bin Saqib said.

He stressed the need to keep ordinary people at the centre of the global digital finance debate. According to him, around 1.4 billion adults worldwide remain outside the formal financial system, while billions more face high remittance costs and limited access to credit.

Bin Saqib also highlighted the cost of international remittances. He noted that sending $200 across borders still costs more than twice the 3% target set under Sustainable Development Goal 10c. Reducing these costs, he said, could put billions of dollars back into the hands of families each year.

The minister said digital finance could also support small businesses, farmers and women entrepreneurs by providing digital identities and verifiable financial records that demonstrate economic activity without relying heavily on traditional collateral.

He added that tokenisation could open new channels for investment by allowing assets such as infrastructure bonds and renewable energy projects to be divided into smaller investment units.

Distributed ledger technology, he said, could further improve transparency and accountability in areas such as public spending and supply chains.

The session was organised by Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology (ODET).