In an unprecedented civil-military alignment on digital finance, Binance Global CEO Richard Teng led a senior delegation to Islamabad on December 6 for high-level meetings with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff & Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, ISI Director-General Asim Malik, and other top officials — marking the first time the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has engaged directly with Pakistan’s highest power centers.
The closed-door sessions focused on accelerating Pakistan’s National Digital Asset Framework, with strong emphasis on building a “transparent, secure, and forward-looking” regulatory ecosystem for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib briefed attendees on licensing regimes for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), banking integration, AML/CFT compliance, responsible on/off-ramps, and potential pathways for institutional investors.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office declared:
“Pakistan reaffirms its strong commitment to developing a robust regulatory environment that promotes innovation, protects users, and aligns with global best practices.”
The extraordinary presence of both the Prime Minister and the newly elevated Field Marshal Asim Munir — along with the ISI chief — underscores that digital assets are now being treated as a strategic national priority touching economic security, remittances, youth employment, and financial inclusion.
Sources familiar with the discussions told media that Pakistan is actively exploring rupee-backed stablecoins, CBDC pilots, and measures to bring billions in offshore Pakistani-held crypto under regulatory oversight without stifling growth.
The visit comes just days after Teng held technical sessions with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, State Bank Governor, commercial bank CEOs, and PVARA officials — indicating rapid, top-down momentum.
Crypto community reactions have been electric.
“Finally, Pakistan is getting serious about crypto,” posted one prominent local trader. “Civil-military unity on this file means things will actually move — fast.”
Global observers noted the military’s deep involvement as unusual but pragmatic, given Pakistan’s history of using establishment consensus to push transformative economic policies.
While no Binance-specific partnership was announced, the meetings signal that licensed international exchanges could soon operate legally in Pakistan, potentially ending years of regulatory gray zones that saw citizens using VPNs and offshore platforms despite high grassroots adoption (Pakistan consistently ranks in Chainalysis’ global top 10 for raw crypto transaction volume).
As one federal minister reportedly remarked off-record: “This is not just about Binance. This is about positioning Pakistan as South Asia’s regulated digital finance hub.”
With the framework expected to be finalized in coming months, December 6, 2025, may well be remembered as the day Pakistan’s crypto future officially went from banned to boardroom.