Pakistani Bank warns customers against trading cryptos

TL;DR Breakdown

• A major bank in Pakistan has warned its clients against trading cryptocurrencies.
• Bank Alfalah has warned its clients following the reveal that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) asked the Sindh High Court (SHC) to install a blanket ban on these assets.

Bank Alfalah has asked its clients in Pakistan to distance themselves from trading cryptocurrencies through its systems. After the SBP submitted paperwork to the Sindh High Court to ban cryptocurrencies, Alfalah had to comply.

Earlier this month, a significant crypto scam was unearthed in Pakistan, explaining the measures their Central Bank is trying to take.

Pakistani’s Bank Alfalah asks clients to distance themselves from cryptos

Pakistani’s Bank Alfalah has been sending notifications to its clients warning them not to engage in crypto trading through its remittance channels. The bank began operations in 1992 and is one of Pakistan’s most significant financial institutions. It has over 800 operating ATMs in over 200 cities in the country. The Abu Dhabi Group owns and manages this bank.

Per local media outlets, the message by the bank read that every customer should know that digital assets are not legal. These assets are neither backed by the SBP nor authorized by any organization with equal power. Therefore, all customers should distance themselves from trading these assets through any remittance system of the bank.

The news from the bank follows the recent filing for a ban with the high court by the SBP. The SBP is seeking a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies in the country. The SHC has directed law and finance ministries to look into the paperwork from SBP and come up with a report on the legal structure of the assets.

The world continues figuring out how to adopt and regulate cryptos

The regulatory developments in Pakistan came after the FIA uncovered a mega scam that cost Pakistanis over $100 million. The FIA issued a notice to Binance seeking cooperation in the investigations since the applications used were wired through the exchange. The authorities have also frozen 1064 suspicious accounts regarding the scam.

Additionally, Propaksitani reported that several banks in the country had ceased offering crypto services by blocking bank cards used to pay for the assets. Some banks also froze accounts of citizens who use the Binance P2P systems to trade cryptocurrency. These developments are happening since the country does not have any crypto regulation framework, and it recently tasted the bitter side of the assets.

Scams and targeted cyber-attacks have risen in recent months. Immunefi announced that investors might have lost funds amounting to over $10.2B through such means in the crypto world. Such losses push governments to find the best ways to protect their clients from such risks while still offering them the freedom to trade them.

Some countries are against the assets, while others are out to regulate them in the best way possible. China was among the first countries that look into the assets. It announced a complete ban, and India almost followed in its steps. Now the Prime minister of India wants the world to have a standard regulatory structure for uniformity.

The US has also confirmed that it won’t ban cryptocurrency and has already allowed trading of good crypto ETFs by the books. However, it is still among the long list of countries that are yet to regulate these assets. Therefore, all crypto enthusiasts and investors should follow these developments to trade these assets.