Muzamil Mohib
Earlier this year Pakistan banned the country’s banks from working with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. While this resulted in the country’s first bitcoin exchange Urdu bit shutting down, people have continued to use cryptocurrencies.Now a coming economic crisis will mean people in Pakistan are pushed away from fiat currency and the local rupee, and towards alternative options — including bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.At the top of Khan’s to-do-list is managing Pakistan’s struggling economy. The rupee has repeatedly fallen against the dollar this year and foreign currency reserves are running low.The rupee has repeatedly fallen against the dollar this year and foreign currency reserves are running low.Many analysts are forecasting that Pakistan could need to turn once again to the International Monetary Fund for another bailout. Meanwhile, the country is imposing rules on those wishing to get money out of the country. Similar, though far more stringent, moves pushed people in Iran towards bitcoin earlier this year as a way of moving money out of the country.”People are turning to cryptocurrency as an investment, but slower than the western world as the literacy rate is lower here and it’s a totally new phenomenon for them,” said Abu Shaheer, the founder of Pakistan-based cryptocurrency Pakcoin.Some are using it as alternative means of payments,” Shaheer added. “Most people using cryptocurrencies are day or short-term traders finding investment opportunities in crypto and are growing in number.”
