Pakistan was less enthusaistic on cryptocurrencies in the past but the country has recently moved to clean up the sector and become future forward.
In an announcement dated March 28, 2019, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) mentioned that it is taking steps to close down 9 different companies that deal in aspects such as cryptocurrencies, multi-level marketing (MLM), and pyramid schemes.
The companies include:
- Gold Transmit Network Technology (Pvt.) Limited
- Green Apple Super Market (Pvt.) Limited
- Galaxy Typing Jobs (SMC-Pvt.) Limited
- 3-A Alliance (Private) Limited
- Pak Memon Impex (Private) Limited
- Memon Corporation (Pvt.) Limited
- Humanitas Meritus (SMCPrivate) Limited
- IDG Enterprises (Private) Limited
- Ayat Enterprises (Smc-Private) Limited
The language used in the announcement noted that some of these firms were “collecting unauthorized deposits from the public,” as well as providing services such as leasing of cars and houses.
While the action taken by the SECP seems to have been in favor of protecting the public from unlawful or risky activities, some deem that the action was taken to make Pakistan complaint with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Pakistan is a member of the FATF, an international anti-money laundering organization, but it has faced problems with full compliance with the FATF.
Pakistan Is Introducing Crypto Regulations, India Stays Bearish
According to a local news outlet, the Pakistani government introduced its Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) regulations. These regulations relate to digital currency activities in the country.
Currently introduced as Draft Regulations, the rules need to be passed by Pakistani lawmakers before being implemented. When passed by the legislature, these regulations would require firms dealing in digital currency to register as an EMI, and follow the guidelines and best practices that are implemented by other financial institutions.
India Stays On the Cryptocurrency Warpath
Coindelta, one of India’s most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, announced on March 29, 2019 that the firm has decided to stop operations.
“Much to our regret, we will no longer be able to provide exchange services for cryptocurrencies.” Shubham Yadav, Coindelta’s founder, wrote in the post. “It has been really difficult for us to operate Coindelta exchange for the last 6 months.”
Yadav went on to mention that the regulatory practices by the Indian government and financial watchdogs had made it impossible to operate crypto-related bank accounts for exchange operations.
Coindelta was one of the last few cryptocurrency exchanges that were present in India. This scarcity resulted from a decision by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prohibit banks from dealing with cryptocurrency businesses.
A few months ago, another Indian exchanged called Zebpay closed down after citing the same reasons.
The case in the Supreme Court of India that challenges RBIs decision has been going on for over 12 months, but minimal progress has been made.
