SBP working on cryptocurrency rules
Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday here that the central bank was working on a regulation framework for cryptocurrency.
“We will have to be open-minded on the matter.”
Talking to the media men after delivering a speech at the Pakistan Banking Summit 2025 in Karachi, the finance minister maintained that regulations regarding the cryptocurrency are the subject of the State Bank of Pakistan.
“From my perspective, this should be viewed with an open mind,” he added.
Aurangzeb said that the PIA would be privatized during the ongoing year and “We should work on the cryptocurrency issue with an open mind.”
Aurangzeb disclosed that the government departments’ losses had now run into billions of rupees.
“Therefore, we will have to work on the public-private sector partnership formula,” he asserted.
Senator Aurangzeb reaffirmed the government’s commitment to economic reforms, highlighting the urgency of restructuring state-owned enterprises to curb mounting losses.
He said the government faces Rs1 trillion in losses from SOEs, which necessitates privatization and SOE reforms.
“At this point, reforming the SOEs and moving forward with the privatization sector is the right thing to do for the country,” he said.
The minister reiterated that the government intends to move towards sustainable and inclusive growth.
“We cannot continue with the external account vulnerability,” he added.
Aurangzeb said the government intends to achieve export-led growth, beyond textiles, IT, and agriculture.
“Going forward minerals will be a game changer from 2028.
Between now and 2028, every single sector has to start exporting from Pakistan,” he stressed.
To a question, the minister reiterated that the government intends to broaden and deepen the tax base.
“There are sectors which contribute 19-20% to the GDP, but their contribution towards the exchequer is just 1%, which is not sustainable,” he added.
The minister said the government plans to ensure compliance and plug tax leakages to provide relief to the overburdened sectors.
The minister further said that the work was in progress on stopping tax evasion and corruption.
