Note that the ban on interaction with digital assets is not a new story. In particular, as of the end of 2021, there are 9 jurisdictions worldwide with a total ban on crypto. In 2018, there were eight. Since then, China has been added to the list of coin dislikes, where it is now simply not allowed to interact with them.

In addition to China, caution with crypto is also needed in Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar and Tunisia. Read more about this study in a separate article.

Where cryptocurrency is banned

On the previous day, Abbasi spoke to the media after meeting a group of senior officials of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). He said government agencies would approach experts on legal issues related to cryptocurrencies, including fraud and money laundering cases, which have increased significantly since the launch of cryptocurrency trading in Pakistan.

FIA head Sanaullah Abbasi

The head of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency believes that the proliferation of cryptocurrencies has “added a new dimension” to the country’s fraud landscape, reports CryptoSlate. Because of this, the authorities have to take drastic measures: the agency will now press PTA to limit the activities of all cryptocurrency portals on the Internet as much as possible. Needless to say, this will have a very negative impact on local cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who will now find it difficult to interact with digital assets, as well as buy and withdraw them.

The Central Bank of Pakistan has also issued a recommendation to refrain from engaging in any activity involving virtual currencies. Recall that Pakistan was recently at the centre of a major fraud scandal that resulted in the loss of nearly $100 million. At issue were fake mobile cryptocurrency exchange apps, which cost duped users too much.

Hacker

Such events have unfortunately discouraged the local government from recognising crypto. However, according to CoinDesk’s sources, this will put anti-cryptocurrency states at a disadvantage to those countries that actively promote crypto. That is the conclusion reached by experts at Fidelity Digital Assets.

In their view, states should take a closer look at El Salvador’s success in adopting digital assets. Recall that last September Bitcoin became the official means of payment in the country.


However, it is important to note here that El Salvador's Bitcoin investments are far from ideal. Specifically, according to Bloomberg analysts, the average purchase price of BTC by the country's government is $51,056. At the same time, the total amount spent is $71 million.

However, today Bitcoin is valued at $41,982, which is 17.7 per cent lower than the state's entry price for the position. Thus, the amount of unrealised losses as of now stands at $12.61 million.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele

By the way, the failed investment hardly upsets the country’s President Nayib Bukele. Tonight he tweeted that the country “doesn’t care” about the reaction of ratings agency Moody’s, which didn’t rate El Salvador’s interaction with Bitcoin. Moreover, the remark was made in a rougher tone.

From this we can conclude that Bukele has no plans to say goodbye to crypto due to short-term setbacks in the backdrop of the asset’s price behaviour. Accordingly, he will continue to treat fans of digital assets.


We believe that blocking crypto news resources in Pakistan will not be good for the authorities' reputation. Firstly, citizens will be able to bypass the blocking with the help of VPNs and research the information they need on foreign resources. Secondly, the ban will traditionally only attract new investors to the niche, who will want to get in touch with coins and explore the topic further. Well, since blockchain wallets can be used anyway, they will succeed.