Pakistan bans financial institutions from participating in cryptocurrency transactions

The Central Bank of India announced on Friday that it would prohibit any link between banks and virtual currency dealers. This led to a sharp drop in the prices of local exchange Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the Central Bank of Pakistan stated in its statement on Friday evening that the cryptocurrency is illegal in the country. The National Bank of Pakistan issued directives to banks and other financial service providers requesting them to reject transactions involving cryptocurrencies.

The Central Bank of Pakistan stated that people who use cryptocurrencies to transfer funds abroad may be sued.

The Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India had previously warned that the public is not using cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, the Indian government announced that it would eliminate the use of cryptocurrencies and consider it an illegal activity. The Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday that entities regulated by it should not trade any virtual currency.

Data from the crypto-currency exchange Coinome shows that after India’s central bank issued a statement, local Indian bitcoin prices fell to 5,392 US dollars, far below the international market price of 6,617 US dollars.

According to Vishal Gupta, co-founder of the blockchain and cryptocurrency commission of the industry organization, before the statement of India’s central bank, India’s Bitcoin price was 5% higher than the international price, and now the price is very low.

IndusLaw’s science and technology expert Namita Viswanath said: “This seems to be a very radical move. The Central Bank of India has taken a comprehensive action and completely banned related activities.”