Bitcoin is the oldest and the fastest-growing cryptocurrency all over the world. On April 6, 2018, the Central Bank of Pakistan has restricted and refrained financial institutions from trading or holding bitcoin in Pakistan and declared if any such transactions were seen, strict actions would be taken. Even though the bank of Pakistan had banned bitcoin but its existence was steadily increasing and spreading at a faster rate. In Pakistan, about 50% of the population is of the age group between 15 and 40 which is also the main reason behind the growth of bitcoin. Since many freelance techies get paid in Bitcoin. Even though the Government had banned bitcoin, it has been traded heavily on an exchange platform in Pakistan. There are also several social media groups and online communities that help people to sell their bitcoin through various exchange platforms. Recently the ban has also been removed, and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is planning on the regulation of virtual asset trading platforms. They have published a position paper mentioning the way of approach for regulating cryptocurrencies.
Even though Pakistan has banned bitcoin mining and trading, there are provinces in Pakistan that have understood the importance of cryptocurrency and how the lack of which could impact them in the future. Therefore on December 2, 2020, the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has passed a resolution on legalizing and also at the same time, have authorized using of Government funds for bitcoin mining. As the use of bitcoin is increasing, the scam rate has also increased in the region due to the miserable regulatory system. As cryptocurrency is not controlled by any central authority, no government has the right to interfere.
To buy Bitcoin in Pakistan, one has to understand bitcoin mining. It needs hardware faster than that used in normal computers. After which one needs to have a bitcoin wallet to store bitcoins. After finding out a secure and accountable Bitcoin wallet, the next and the most critical step you should take is to search for a reputable cryptocurrency marketplace in Pakistan. There are two types of crypto exchanges that are most commonly used, traditional and peer-to-peer (P2P). One can buy bitcoin using various exchange platforms available. One can buy bitcoin by simply creating an account and which requires you to provide an email address and password. After logging in, you have to click on buy bitcoin, a list of traders will appear and one has to choose the trader with good feedback. After entering the quantity of bitcoin that you wish to buy, the trader will send you local payment details to which you need to send the money and after receiving it, the seller will release the bitcoins.
The growth in the trade value of Bitcoin has been a surprise to many economists. Bitcoin was first introduced in the year 2009 when the BTC to PKR price was below a hundred Pakistani Rupee but today one Bitcoin values about Seventy-Eight Lakh Five Thousand Three Hundred Fifteen Pakistani Rupee. This rise is mainly due to the inflation of the U.S. Dollar. Even several platforms like PayPal and Venmo have recently announced that they will soon allow its users to buy, sell, hold and use bitcoin in their application. The Government of Pakistan is not trying to give attention to cryptocurrency as it knows digital currency is the key to the future and therefore, they are looking to regularise it.
