it can be the effect of the fact that big countries legalizes crypto and doing so well with it, like how the recent US election campaign also try to cater to crypto holders.
the thing with some country is that, they are hesitant to make a bold and significant move towards new asset like this, worrying that it could create a problem, but once they figured out that the well developed country are having no problem at all instead can help solve some of the problem, they'd see the good light in it.
el salvador's case of paying off its debt by just holding crypto also shed a good light toward crypto in general.
Topic: Pakistan taking a U-turn (Read 464 times)
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
Maybe this is more to this that we don't know or this is just another plot by some group of people in the government that want Bitcoin to be free will for everyone. There is nothing bad in it but a place like Pakistan, hmm I really hope it comes to past but there is definitely things that are hidden under this U turn. My first fear and sanction that will follow them is terrorism and money laundering, there is high history of these two from the region.
What is the world bank saying about this? Will they continue to lend them money? What about IMF? This guys don't give loans if you don't follow there guideline. If they don't do their bid, they definitely not having any free money that will be coming their countries again.
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Pakistan has moved to legalize crypto, marking a major shift in its financial policy, which has historically labeled digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as illegal tender.
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
I am from India and to be honest it's good to hear that Pakistain is in favor of legalizing crypto.
The country has been not doing so well with it's economic situation and I hope this action by the government improves the financial situation of the country.
All in all, I wish Pakistan good luck and hope it creates regulations that support crypto.
A country can change their regulation about crypto especially for Bitcoin and Ethereum or with other coins. That will depends on the government how they can see the benefits of crypto to their country especially their citizens. I don't have a clue which other countries that will reconsider their laws about Bitcoin and crypto at large because that will depends on how will be each government of the country thinks about Bitcoin and crypto.
The thing is when the government research what is the benefit of Bitcoin and crypto to their citizens and they found that can gives a chance to their citizens to have a better life, they may change their laws soon. But we know that will not as easy as we thinks because in the government, many interests behind that so when they cannot gets the benefits for them, they will not adopts Bitcoin like the other countries.
The thing is when the government research what is the benefit of Bitcoin and crypto to their citizens and they found that can gives a chance to their citizens to have a better life, they may change their laws soon. But we know that will not as easy as we thinks because in the government, many interests behind that so when they cannot gets the benefits for them, they will not adopts Bitcoin like the other countries.
I agree with others who have pointed out that there's a major difference between being friendly toward decentralized cryptos like Bitcoin or Ethereum and allowing the state bank to issue its own currency. What they're doing is legalizing CBDC, and that can be coherent with maintaining a general crypto ban. Because their problem with cryptos isn't that they are digital; it's that they are produced in a decentralized way by someone who isn't state authorities.
Support on CBDC means hate against Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Like the USA government with Biden and Harris want to launch the USA's CBDC and we already saw their approaches as anti-Bitcoin, anti-cryptocurrency as much as possible.Trump is anti-CBDC and this way, he has more reasons to support Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. It is not a must condition that if he doesn't like CBDC, he will automatically support Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, but has more reasons to do so.
If governments launch their CBDCs, they will not want their citizens ignore CBDCs and only or mainly use bitcoin and cryptocurrencies for transfers in societies. To make sure CBDCs will be used mainly by governemts, there is no other way to ban or put many restrictions on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
I agree with others who have pointed out that there's a major difference between being friendly toward decentralized cryptos like Bitcoin or Ethereum and allowing the state bank to issue its own currency. What they're doing is legalizing CBDC, and that can be coherent with maintaining a general crypto ban. Because their problem with cryptos isn't that they are digital; it's that they are produced in a decentralized way by someone who isn't state authorities.
Quote
Pakistan has moved to legalize crypto, marking a major shift in its financial policy, which has historically labeled digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as illegal tender.
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
Just what I always believe in, there is no law that is set on stone especially when it comes to technology and its application. Pakistan is indeed against cryptocurrency but I believe what changes their stance is the fact that Bitcoin is getting accepted and legalize in different country especially the USA and other European Country.
It is a good thing that they had decided to change their stance since they had been missing big time when they see Bitcoin as tools for illegal stuff when the truth is that it works the same as other currency except it is decentralized and far from corruption.
I'm a bit confused. Is it really a U-turn? It doesn't seem so. The past policy was clear that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies aren't legal tender, and that banks and other financial institutions are not allowed to provide services to cryptocurrency exchanges. Neither are they allowed to accommodate transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
So, what has changed? What specifically is being referred to here as a "major shift" or a "historic shift"? Bitcoin remains not a legal tender, right? Are banks now allowed to serve cryptocurrency exchanges? Or are they now allowed to accept crypto transactions?
So, what has changed? What specifically is being referred to here as a "major shift" or a "historic shift"? Bitcoin remains not a legal tender, right? Are banks now allowed to serve cryptocurrency exchanges? Or are they now allowed to accept crypto transactions?
I believe the country, Pakistan, is now looking to legalize Cryptocurrency as what @OP cited. That maybe a possible Uturn if not an actual U-turn as of this date.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change.
Countries and personalities that have once mentioned their hate and dislike of Bitcoin can always change. That's why Pakistan, known people in the world can give their stance in crypto as a hater but then they eventually are going to like it. There's no one that can dictate what they should like and dislike but only based on their observation and the trend that can be beneficial to them with this action by the government of Pakistan.What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
Let's just hope that the majority of those that have expressed dislike to Bitcoin will also change their stance. 
I'm a bit confused. Is it really a U-turn? It doesn't seem so. The past policy was clear that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies aren't legal tender, and that banks and other financial institutions are not allowed to provide services to cryptocurrency exchanges. Neither are they allowed to accommodate transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
So, what has changed? What specifically is being referred to here as a "major shift" or a "historic shift"? Bitcoin remains not a legal tender, right? Are banks now allowed to serve cryptocurrency exchanges? Or are they now allowed to accept crypto transactions?
So, what has changed? What specifically is being referred to here as a "major shift" or a "historic shift"? Bitcoin remains not a legal tender, right? Are banks now allowed to serve cryptocurrency exchanges? Or are they now allowed to accept crypto transactions?
If we are talking about cbdc's here, which looks like it, then there is nothing interesting about this news. Cbdc's are pro-surveillance tools that the government would use to monitor people's finances better. It is very different from cryptocurrencies.
I do see a trend of smaller countries choosing to loosen their belts a bit towards crypto
Smaller countries with poor economy are more open to the prospect of BTC and crypto. Since the eye of the world isn't really on them and they want to see how new technology can be of use to them, they can experiment with digital currencies. 
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
I won't say that cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin attracts a massive community or there's a small community within Pakistan. Still, as a local, I can say that I'm living at a village site even where 70% of young ones and almost most of the middle-age literate people know about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. So Yup involvement number cant be specified but it can be said that a major decent number of people are aware of Bitcoin and its use case (Negative or Positive) is a different thing.
Honestly, I'm still in shock after hearing such a statement, haha, as I wasn't expecting any comment at least 5 years later or Bitcoin reaching $1M. Bitcoin will lead the way sooner or later, but I'm satisfied with my stance of taking a look at it.
And BTW the U-turns are quite famous here.
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
The assumption that cryptos are mainly used for illegal activities is outdated or archaic. Most countries are making comprehensive regulatory laws and legalizing cryptocurrency use. Countries that make friendly laws will attract inventors thereby creating job opportunities, employment opportunities, increase revenue through tax and licencing and transfer of technology. Countries like Bhutan and El Salvador have also made a profit from investing in Bitcoin. Quote
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
China has the second biggest economy in the world. Unbanning Bitcoin in that country will be beneficial to the industry. Nothing is impossible, countries can change their laws and even China can become friendly in the future. 
Get ready for more terrorists to join the crypto network then! Please understand the background -
- Pakistan is under a huge debt from IMF and World Bank
- These international organisations have forced Pakistan government to increase the tax rates and to cut down the government expenditure
- It is becoming very difficult for the government to directly support the terrorism organisations through the usual route as they are being monitored
- Pakistan government needs to find a way to support the terrorists groups in their country.
That's all! That's where cryptos are coming in.
What to do in this case? If we take El Salvador as an example, adopting Bitcoin alone did not make the country rich. It may help slightly or moderately, depending on the investment, but the first beneficiaries of the regulation are the investors.- Pakistan is under a huge debt from IMF and World Bank
- These international organisations have forced Pakistan government to increase the tax rates and to cut down the government expenditure
- It is becoming very difficult for the government to directly support the terrorism organisations through the usual route as they are being monitored
- Pakistan government needs to find a way to support the terrorists groups in their country.
That's all! That's where cryptos are coming in.
I don't expect countries with high population density to take more action anytime soon.
Nothing apart from wait and watch! Pakistan's entry into the crypto market will make it even harder for many other countries to consider cryptocurrency as legal tender. It will bring down the reputation of cryptocurrency as a whole.
Pakistan government isn't doing it for their citizens. Rather they want to hide a lot of government transactions from the international bodies. It's not really good for cryptocurrency in general.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
China? Nahhh I don't think so.I don't think that they will allow something that they can't even control at first place. At the end of the day, there are still Chinese people that are into crypto despite the government banning it. Other countries especially those developing ones might follow what Pakistan did as well especially now that we might enter the bull run season. As for Pakistan though, Bitcoin being a legal tender is out of the question right now.
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The tender is still in question, it's just that the crypto question moved a little bit in a needed direction, as I've seen through this thread - however, I do think it's a positive change and I hope to more of it to come.
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
You said it already. It's the profit.As a developing country, they already realized that they might make some money when they are trying to adopt Bitcoin and who knows. They might follow what Bhutan is doing right now. Investing into Bitcoin. They're making a chance with their decision because they think that they can make money off of Bitcoin, and it's good to see another country doing this.
TBH, I don't really know the reason why certain countries choose to ban the use of cryptocurrencies on their country. They say that crypto has been used for illegal activities, but what about their own fiat currency? Isn't it used for illegal activities as well. Hmmm
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
China? Nahhh I don't think so.I don't think that they will allow something that they can't even control at first place. At the end of the day, there are still Chinese people that are into crypto despite the government banning it. Other countries especially those developing ones might follow what Pakistan did as well especially now that we might enter the bull run season. As for Pakistan though, Bitcoin being a legal tender is out of the question right now.
Are you saying that Bitcoin and Ethereum are now legal tender in Pakistan? I don't believe it.
Their government only proposed amendments. This doesn't mean that they accepted them. And there is not a word about legalizing bitcoin, but about another CBDC.
I am 100% sure that no country will legalize bitcoin as a means of payment (except 3rd world countries like El Salvador) and the maximum that governments will allow is the use of bitcoin as an investment instrument.
Their government only proposed amendments. This doesn't mean that they accepted them. And there is not a word about legalizing bitcoin, but about another CBDC.
I am 100% sure that no country will legalize bitcoin as a means of payment (except 3rd world countries like El Salvador) and the maximum that governments will allow is the use of bitcoin as an investment instrument.
Too early for that, I agree.
And I do think that the smaller countries will give examples to those like Pakistan and countries like it, that can be used as a.. Learning material, so to speak
I hope so, at least, that as time goes on, more and more countries will hop onto crypto.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are evolving and growing over time. A country cannot remain steadfast in its stance to ban Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in their country - if they see it continuing to grow and more and more adopters in their country, then they will inevitably have to be able to adjust their regulations to the conditions in society that want Bitcoin and cryptocurrency to be legalized. Moreover, the government can also get taxes from trading, and there are many other benefits that they can get from legalizing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, so there is no harm in them legalizing it and it can actually help build their economy.
I do see a trend of smaller countries choosing to loosen their belts a bit towards crypto - and it's a good sign, we can say it for sure - even though they will regulate everything to the brim, it's still a start. And maybe, just maybe, they will try to do something with BTC itself, though I don't think so.
Quote
Pakistan has moved to legalize crypto, marking a major shift in its financial policy, which has historically labeled digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as illegal tender.
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
Of course, any country can flip it's stance on crypto, specially if they found out that it can truly help their country and it's population. And that is one reason many governments in the beginning thought about crypto though, that it has been used by criminals. But we all know that only a small percentage of them really use it, fiat is still the king for this kind of people.
However, I doubt that China though will make a U-turn, it's a authoritative regime, and what they don't like is that their population might keep their money on crypto and then bring out that money out of their country, and that's what they don't like to happen. So I skeptic that they will change their hard line stance in the future, specially for Bitcoin.
Let's face it - if the country is rich, it wouldn't even think about crypto that much and how to play around with it - for what?
And another stop-line is when a country is very strict in terms of regulations - why it would play around with something that would give the capital the way out of it without much info on the traces of it?
I hope though that it will go fine and better as time goes on.
Quote
Pakistan has moved to legalize crypto, marking a major shift in its financial policy, which has historically labeled digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as illegal tender.
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
Of course, any country can flip it's stance on crypto, specially if they found out that it can truly help their country and it's population. And that is one reason many governments in the beginning thought about crypto though, that it has been used by criminals. But we all know that only a small percentage of them really use it, fiat is still the king for this kind of people.
However, I doubt that China though will make a U-turn, it's a authoritative regime, and what they don't like is that their population might keep their money on crypto and then bring out that money out of their country, and that's what they don't like to happen. So I skeptic that they will change their hard line stance in the future, specially for Bitcoin.
Quote
Pakistan has moved to legalize crypto, marking a major shift in its financial policy, which has historically labeled digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as illegal tender.
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
The federal government has proposed amendments to its State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, allowing the SBP to issue the country’s money in digital currency. read here
In 2023, Pakistan was very firm on their stance about crypto. They promoted the idea that using cryptocurrencies allows for illegal activities and therefore will not be encouraged and anyone to use cryptocurrencies will not be protected by the government. But now we see that they seem to be getting more lenient with crypto probably after seeing many countries adopting bitcoin and reaping rewards.
This just shows that even though a country has written off bitcoin, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. What other countries do you hope to reconsider their laws about bitcoin and crypto at large? China comes to mind first seeing how strong and largely popular was crypto there.
What other country comes to mind? The Russian Federation. For a very long time, the attitude towards crypto was not the best. Constant laws that limited this activity. The decision to change the attitude came after an incredible number of sanctions were introduced against this country and there was no other solution left on how to use crypto for cross-border transfers.
China does not have such problems. Therefore, you should not expect the situation to change for the better in the near future.
Maybe the situation will change in Asia too - though I am too skeptical about such a case simply because why would big countries change something or introduce something new, that isn't tested with trial and error? It's an undiscovered land for them, and they won't do it if the pros won't outweigh the cons.
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