Aurangzeb at the UN: tokenisation only counts if it makes remittances cheaper

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told the UN Digital Cooperation Day 2026 event in New York that Pakistan is shifting to a regulated virtual assets framework, and set a condition for it: tokenisation "must address real economic needs, including cheaper remittances, SME financing, sovereign debt, and broader financial access".

He said private sector innovation has to be balanced against strong state safeguards, inclusive digital infrastructure and international cooperation, and argued that emerging economies should be at the table when global standards are written rather than adopting them afterwards.

Why remittances are the test that matters here

Overseas Pakistanis send home the second largest inflow of dollars into the country after exports. The cost of sending that money is not trivial. A conventional bank or exchange company corridor from the Gulf or the UK typically takes a cut through the spread between the rate the sender is quoted and the interbank rate, plus a fixed fee.

That spread is the number to watch if a regulated stablecoin or tokenised remittance channel ever opens. If it does not shrink the spread, it has not delivered anything a hawala or an exchange company was not already doing.

The interbank rate on Tuesday was Rs 277.22 to the dollar. Compare what your transfer provider actually quotes against it on our currency converter, and watch the rate on the USD to PKR page.

Where the rules stand

Holding and trading crypto in Pakistan has been in a grey zone for years: not banned by statute, but with the State Bank having barred regulated banks from processing crypto transactions. A regulated framework changes what a bank is allowed to touch, which is the practical gate, not what an individual holds in a wallet.

Aurangzeb gave no rollout date, no licensing timetable and no named regulator in the New York remarks.

The market backdrop

Bitcoin is trading around $85,436, near an eight month high, which is about Rs 2.37 crore a coin at Tuesday's interbank rate. Ether is at $2,739.5. Live figures for both are on our Bitcoin page.