Pakistan Calls for Global Digital Asset Rules at UN Briefing

Pakistan has called for stronger international cooperation on digital assets and blockchain technology, urging governments to move from broad discussions toward practical regulatory frameworks capable of supporting innovation while protecting consumers and financial systems. Minister of State and Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib presented the position during a virtual keynote address to a briefing at United Nations headquarters.

The session, titled Digital Assets and Blockchain for Sustainable Development: Advancing Digital Finance through Innovation, brought together representatives of governments, United Nations bodies and the private sector. It was convened by Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology.

Saqib argued that digital assets, tokenisation and distributed ledger systems could give emerging economies new options for improving financial inclusion, lowering transaction costs and widening access to financial services. He highlighted the large number of adults worldwide who remain outside formal banking systems and pointed to expensive remittances, slow settlements and limited access to credit as continuing obstacles for households and businesses.

Cross-border payments were identified as a particularly important area for developing countries. The briefing noted that the average cost of sending $200 internationally remains more than twice the three-percent target set under Sustainable Development Goal 10.c. Reducing those costs could allow a greater share of remittance income to reach families directly, an issue with particular relevance for economies such as Pakistan that receive substantial financial flows from citizens working abroad.

The discussion also examined uses of digital finance beyond conventional payments. Digital identities and verifiable transaction histories could help small businesses, farmers and women entrepreneurs establish records of economic activity without depending entirely on traditional collateral. Tokenisation could potentially create additional methods of mobilising capital by dividing assets such as infrastructure bonds or renewable-energy projects into smaller investable units, while distributed ledgers could improve traceability in public spending and supply chains.

At the same time, the Pakistani representative cautioned that technological adoption carries significant risks that require effective oversight. Among the concerns highlighted were volatility affecting retail users, illicit financial activity, concentration of economic power and the possibility that countries with weaker regulatory capacity could fall further behind technologically advanced jurisdictions. The central argument was that regulation should develop alongside innovation rather than arriving only after markets and risks have expanded.

The briefing also covered artificial intelligence, digital identity and the policy conditions required for responsible implementation of emerging financial technologies. Pakistan's intervention reflects its growing focus on formal regulation of virtual assets and its effort to participate more actively in international discussions on digital finance. The next stage will depend on whether governments and multilateral institutions can translate these discussions into common standards that encourage innovation while providing safeguards against financial abuse, market instability and unequal access to new technologies.