Pakistan could move into a top-tier position in global crypto within the next five years, Changpeng Zhao projected, pointing to adoption scale and recent policy momentum. The claim is anchored in Pakistan’s reported No. 3 global adoption rank and a large estimated user base that already makes it a meaningful market participant.
The participation signal is the headline: an estimated 20 to 27.1 million people are engaging with crypto, which speaks to grassroots penetration rather than institutional dominance. This level of retail engagement is framed as a response to persistent inflation and currency depreciation, with digital assets used as an alternative store of value and transaction rail. From a market-structure perspective, that implies a sizeable domestic liquidity footprint and potentially elevated on-chain activity tied to Pakistan-based wallets.
A conversation between Changpeng Zhao (@cz_binance), Founder of Binance and Chairman PVARA, @BilalBinSaqib on the future of crypto in Pakistan.
From Pakistan’s potential to tokenization and what comes next for the virtual asset economy.
Timestamps:
– Why Pakistan for Crypto?:… pic.twitter.com/ILGHOMBdWY
— Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (@PakistanVARA) December 30, 2025
Regulatory pivot and institutional roadmap
Pakistan’s policy posture also shifted materially in 2025. The Virtual Assets Ordinance, 2025 took effect on July 8, 2025, marking a move from restrictive posture toward proactive governance of digital assets. Alongside this, the Pakistan Crypto Council was established to coordinate public-private initiatives, and Bilal Bin Saqib has been identified among leaders advancing proposals that include a government-backed Bitcoin strategic reserve.
Changpeng Zhao’s involvement is positioned as an execution accelerator rather than a symbolic endorsement. CZ joined the council as a strategic advisor to support infrastructure design, education programs, adoption strategy, and the tokenization of the national stock exchange. In operational terms, tokenization here means converting traditional assets into standardized blockchain-based tokens that can be recorded and transferred on-chain.
Governance, compliance, and downside scenarios
Even with momentum, there are open questions that matter to institutions. Observers highlight uncertainty around long-term legal coherence, which can translate into enforcement risk and uneven regulatory certainty for larger participants. Separately, concerns about illicit finance—specifically the risk of terror financing—are flagged as a potential trigger for tighter surveillance or international countermeasures that could spill over into on-chain flows and correspondent banking access.
Net-net, Pakistan’s trajectory combines scale, policy movement, and high-profile advisory involvement—but the outcome is execution-dependent. Becoming a “global crypto leader” hinges on sustained policy clarity, credible compliance outcomes, and real delivery on the council’s stated initiatives. The practical near-term takeaway for market participants is straightforward: map exposure to Pakistan-origin flows and monitor compliance frameworks as the key gating factor for scalable participation.
