Exploring The Legal Framework for Regulating Cryptocurrencies in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities
Abstract
The current study has discussed the common law that governs the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Pakistan, the challenges, and opportunities in the current regulatory regime. The research design being qualitative is based on secondary sources of data including legal documents, government policy papers, the State Bank of Pakistan circulars and guidelines, academic journals, and international reports. The content and thematic analysis methods is are applied to find major regulatory issues, legal gaps, and possible opportunities associated with regulating the crypto-currency in Pakistan. A comparative analysis framework was used in comparison with the international practices by analyzing how Pakistan has addressed it. The results indicated high regulatory uncertainty, lack of wholesome and all-encompassing governance structure, enforcement issues as well as financial crimes & money laundering. Nonetheless, the research also determined possibilities of economic development, financial integration & inclusion, and advancement of technologies as well as the creation of income based on proper regulation. The study has highlighted the imbalance between regulation and security considerations as well as technological innovation & advancements. Although such restrictions as the dynamism of cryptocurrency technology and the lack of extensive case law exist, this research offered some important insights regarding the legal framework of cryptocurrencies in Pakistan. The academic study also highlights the national need of a clear legal framework for Pakistan to ensure that the benefits of cryptocurrency can be harnessed and its associated risks are mitigated, and therefore proposed that clear regulations, stakeholder inclusion and upskilling, and legal as well as economic enablement efforts should be instituted.
Keywords: Financial Regulation, Cryptocurrencies, Regulatory Environment, Money Laundering, Financial Inclusion
