Pakistan eyes digital future at CeDAR launch

At the heart of Lahore University of Management Sciences’ (LUMS) Science and engineering building, the Centre for Digital Assets and Regulation (CeDAR) was officially launched on Thursday, drawing leading voices from the world of crypto, venture capital and policy.

The event marked more than just an inauguration, signalling Pakistan’s growing ambition to position itself at the forefront of digital asset innovation in South Asia.

Speaking at the event, Mohammad Yesilhark of NOIA Capital described Bitcoin as “the fastest horse” in the race of financial assets and even called it “Islamic”.

His remarks echoed a broader sentiment felt throughout the panels: that Pakistan, despite its economic hurdles, holds untapped potential to leapfrog into the future of finance through crypto and blockchain.

The event featured discussions on everything -- from tokenised assets to using excess electricity for Bitcoin mining. One key argument was that while countries like El Salvador and Bhutan were early adopters of Bitcoin, Pakistan’s demographic scale offers an even greater runway. With proper infrastructure and regulatory support, Pakistan could not only catch up to global competitors but it could even take the lead.

Fiat currency was described as an "experiment" by Mr. Faisal Aftab, Zayn VC and US treasuries were critiqued for offering "negative real returns".  Aftab noted how CPI metrics often exclude essentials like food and energy in their calculations, implying that inflation erodes gains from US treasuries, leaving investors with assets that yield losses in real terms. 

Meanwhile, crypto, particularly Bitcoin, was presented as a more inclusive and resilient store of value which Yesilhark outlined is "capable of traversing both time and space" without the logistical hurdles of physical assets like gold. In simple terms, digital assets are more portable than existing assets in the physical plane. 

The conference also tackled criticism often levied against crypto, including money laundering and capital flight. Mr. Humza Khan, ⁠Growth Manager at Binance Pakistan, argued that crypto, with its trackable nature, is often more compliant than traditional channels. “Capital flight is a rich man’s game,” one panelist noted, “but for average Pakistanis, crypto means accessible remittances and financial inclusion". 

According to Khan, banks can sometimes charge up to a 25 percent service fee of a transaction's total value while these charges are negligible using digital asset platforms. 

Mr. Sardar Ahmed Durrani, from Genesis Digital outlined the profitability of running a crypto mining operation, claiming large operations could generate revenues north of $8 million. If Pakistan is to build a robust regulatory framework, it won’t just help protect investors and could bring taxable income into the formal economy. 

With officials from Binance, Zayn VC, Haruko and the State Bank of Pakistan present, the event set the tone for what CeDAR hopes to become: a bridge between policy, technology and sustainable financial innovation.

Pakistan may have arrived late to the crypto conversation but if the energy at CeDAR’s launch was any indication, it’s ready to speak loud and clear.