Botswana vs Pakistan
Crypto regulation comparison
Botswana
Pakistan
Legal
Restricted
Botswana passed the Virtual Assets Act in 2022, first African country to issue crypto licenses. NBFIRA supervises VASPs. 4 licensed entities as of 2024. Penalties up to P250,000 or 5 years imprisonment.
Pakistan has a hostile regulatory environment for cryptocurrency. The State Bank of Pakistan has prohibited financial institutions from facilitating crypto transactions, and the government has considered outright bans. Despite this, Pakistan has high informal crypto adoption, ranking among the top countries for P2P crypto volume. The SECP has explored blockchain regulation but no licensing framework exists for exchanges.
Tax Type
None
Tax Type
None
Tax Rate
N/A
Tax Rate
N/A
Exchanges
Yes
Exchanges
No
Mining
Yes
Mining
Yes
Regulator
Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA)
Regulator
SBP (State Bank of Pakistan), SECP
Stablecoin Rules
No stablecoin regulation
Stablecoin Rules
No regulation; SBP has not authorized any crypto activities
Key Points
- Virtual Assets Act enacted in 2022, effective Feb 22, 2022
- First African country to issue crypto licenses via NBFIRA
- 4 licensed VASPs as of December 2024
- Bank of Botswana assesses domestic crypto risks as minimal
- Unregistered crypto dealers face fines up to P250,000 or imprisonment
Key Points
- SBP prohibits banks and financial institutions from processing crypto transactions
- No licensing framework for crypto exchanges; operating informally is risky
- High P2P crypto adoption despite regulatory hostility
- Government has considered formal banning legislation multiple times
- SECP has explored digital asset regulation but no framework enacted