Pakistan could save around $400 million annually by using regulated stablecoins for remittances if the technology reduces transaction costs by one percentage point on the country’s roughly $40 billion annual remittance inflows, Bilal bin Saqib, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), said.
Saqib said Pakistan is exploring stablecoin-based remittances as part of a broader push to bring virtual assets into the formal financial system and develop use cases for cross-border payments, digital exports, trade finance and tokenized financial assets.
He said around $40 billion in remittances still enters Pakistan through traditional channels, including the SWIFT system. Citing World Bank data, Saqib said the global average cost of sending $200 is around 6 percent, leaving room for regulated stablecoins to reduce transfer costs.
Pakistan has recently opened the licensing process for Virtual Asset Service Providers as part of its new regulatory framework. Existing virtual asset service providers must submit applications for a No Objection Certificate by September 5, 2026, under Section 70 of the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, or cease operations.
Saqib said the potential use of digital assets extends beyond remittances to Pakistan’s growing community of freelancers, software developers, designers, creators and other digital workers receiving payments from overseas. He said new financial infrastructure could make these payments faster, cheaper and more transparent while helping Pakistan capture more value within the formal economy.
The government is also examining tokenization as a potential source of financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, exporters, agriculture, energy and infrastructure. Saqib noted that SMEs account for 90 percent of Pakistan’s businesses and 40 percent of GDP, while SME financing stood at only Rs. 850 billion in March.
He said tokenized trade receivables and private credit could potentially connect Pakistani businesses with international pools of capital. The government is also considering tokenized settlements and ways to provide overseas Pakistanis with greater access to investment products.
Saqib said Pakistan’s virtual asset strategy is being developed in three phases: establishing the legal and regulatory framework, building a regulated market through licensing and stronger anti money laundering compliance, and developing practical national use cases such as remittances, cross-border settlement, digital exports, trade finance, private credit and tokenized securities.
He said Pakistan should assess each use case based on its measurable economic benefit and ensure that the country does not simply adopt emerging technologies after other markets have moved ahead, but develops the capacity to understand and shape them in its national interest.
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