ISLAMABAD: The minister of state for crypto and blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, met with top US lawmakers and the New York City mayor this week to strengthen cooperation on digital assets, blockchain regulation and financial innovation.

The minister held discussions with Senator Cynthia Lummis, a key architect of US crypto legislation, as well as senators Bill Hagerty, Rick Scott, Tim Sheehy and Jim Justice in Washington, DC.

Mr Saqib also engaged with members of the House Financial Services Committee and White House advisers, according to a press release issued on Friday.

He said Pakistan is “here to lead” the world of crypto and blockchain.

“From Capitol Hill to the White House, I shared a new face of Pakistan: one driven by youth, innovation, and global partnerships.”

Mr Saqib’s discussions with US officials focused on Pakistan’s recent initiatives, including plans for a strategic bitcoin reserve, a virtual asset regulatory framework and stablecoin adoption to streamline remittances.

With $36 billion in annual remittances and a booming freelance sector, Pakistan aimed to become a hub for responsible digital finance, the press release stated.

Meeting with NYC mayor

In a separate meeting with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Mr Saqib discussed challenges and approaches to growing the digital asset economy in diverse, high-potential markets, according to an official press release.

During the meeting, which took place at Mayor Adam’s official residence, the two leaders explored opportunities to develop knowledge-sharing initiatives and capacity-building programmes to foster innovation while ensuring regulatory compliance.

This meeting could pave the way to establish direct collaboration between the New York Crypto Council and the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) — two government-backed bodies committed to exploring potential use cases of Web3 for public service, the press release added.

Mr Saqib is the chief executive officer of PCC.

In the past few months, Pakistan has taken multiple initiatives to regulate and accelerate virtual assets.

The government has already set up PCC and Pakistan Digital Assets Authority to regulate blockchain-based financial infrastructure to ensure the Fatf-comp­liant and responsible adoption of digital assets.

A meeting of PCC held earlier this month discussed the draft regulatory framework for digital and virtual assets in Pakistan.

The meeting, chaired by the finance minister, also discussed the establishment of formed a technical committee comprising representatives from SBP; SECP; Law and IT & Telecom divisions to review draft laws and propose a robust framework and governance structure for digital assets.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2025