Bilal addresses Harvard Islamic Finance Conference

Bilal Bin Saqib, Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, gave a keynote at the Harvard Islamic Finance Conference, according to Business Recorder. His discussion with Imran Sayeed, a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, focused on blockchain and Islamic finance, looking at how digital assets, regulatory innovation and Shariah-compliant frameworks connect. The gathering, held at Harvard University, marked the 29th anniversary of the initiative under a theme centred on a changing global finance landscape.

He described Golden Age 2.0 as a shift from simply using technology to developing the know-how, capacity and organisations needed to build with it. In his view, a new golden age means generating knowledge and solving human problems rather than only revisiting the past. The wider discussion covered cross-border payments, business financing and digital forms of financial holdings, judged by whether these make services more affordable, accessible and reliable.

Drawing on his experience in Pakistan, he explained the move from promoting what technology could do to supervising the duties attached to financial services. According to him, the Virtual Assets Act, 2026 underpins licensing and oversight, while published routes cover sandbox entry, no-objection certificates and licences. He stressed that rules are only a beginning, and that real-world use by the public will decide success, provided people have clear rights, understandable risks and a place to seek redress.