Shaheer Ahmed
The Pakistani government has formed three committees to decide whether to establish a legal framework for cryptocurrency. The federal government has constituted three sub-committees to decide the future of cryptocurrency in the country. The sub-committees were formed during a meeting chaired by Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh.
However, Country General Manager for Rain Financial Inc Mr. Zeeshan Ahmed claims Pakistan could generate at least $100 million in taxes in one year or Rs. 20 billion just by legalizing the crypto trading in Pakistan. Chainalysis report stated that Pakistan-based crypto traders made $650 million in profits from July 2020 to June 2021, and if taxed at just 15% the government could generate more than $100 million or Rs. 20 billion in taxes.
Rain Financial Inc, which has a crypto exchange license in Bahrain and Turkey, is looking to enter the Pakistani market as well, but unlike other exchanges, it only plans to step into the country after the legalization of crypto trading in Pakistan. For this purpose, the Rain team has reportedly met with several stakeholders, including State Bank. The meetings are claimed to be fruitful, and the company is expecting positive things to happen around the legalization of crypto trading in the country.
Pakistan ranks highly among emerging market players in the crypto-asset industry, as the country reportedly held $20 billion in cryptocurrency in 2020-21.
“The collection of taxes will be enhanced and strengthened. A wider tax base is there on a large untaxed activity already operating in the market. Looking at the size of the market – there is a large chunk, and huge potential still remains,” Zeeshan Ahmed added.
