Pakistan Says Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Is Meant to Prepare for Future

Pakistan’s top digital-asset regulator said the country’s push to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve is a long-term effort to prepare for changes in the future financial system.

Bitcoin Magazine reported on August 28 that Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or PVARA, said the reserve “is about the future and preparing for the future.”

Saqib said Pakistan’s strategic Bitcoin reserve plan is not focused on Bitcoin’s price or on using large amounts of cash to buy the cryptocurrency. Children now in school will make up the future workforce, he said, and no one knows what the financial and monetary system will look like in 2080.

Countries, financial institutions and finance companies around the world see Bitcoin as both a scarce asset and a strategic asset, he added. Pakistan is seeking to adapt to that shift and build related capabilities.

Saqib also described digital assets as a new opportunity for Pakistan. He said the country fell behind in past technological revolutions, but now wants to build capabilities for this financial revolution and the broader shift in global financial infrastructure. Pakistan also wants to show the world that it is open, forward-looking and wants to stand at the forefront of this technological change, he said.