Category: 3. Business

Pakistan is a country of intelligent people who are seriously thinking about creating a niche for cryptocurrency mining through blockchain technology.

That is precisely why the government took the initiative to form the Pakistan Crypto Council and the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority. The Pakistan Crypto Council is responsible for developing policies, infrastructure and regulations for blockchain technology and digital assets.

The Virtual Asset Authority will oversee compliance protocols and issue licenses to virtual asset service providers, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, for the trading of cryptocurrencies. The State Bank of Pakistan has yet to recognise cryptocurrency as legal tender for the digital economy. The crypto bet is too big to ignore. It has its own pros and cons.

It is a complex digital world developing through the strong backing of AI as a resource. A country like Pakistan needs to tread carefully when developing and dealing with this immense treasure trove. Cryptocurrency is one of the businesses Pakistanis are already engaged in, with millions currently venturing through illegal, informal channels. Now that the government has announced the allocation of 2,000 megawatts of electricity for crypto mining, it is a significant step forward in realising the dream of creating virtual asset reserves to boost investment and economic growth. There is an immediate need to establish a regulatory framework for creating such reserves based on crypto mining using the most modern blockchain technology. Pakistan can become a regional digital hub if resources are properly utilised. Proper utilisation of resources requires a policy framework with adequate digital infrastructure and a regulatory mechanism in place.

Cryptocurrency mining is a lengthy and energy-intensive process that consumes a significant amount of electricity. A country like Pakistan, which faces significant constraints in generating and consuming power affordably, may encounter substantial difficulties when venturing into such mining businesses involving blockchain technology. However, it is a fact that Pakistan has significant potential to generate cheap power by utilising its abundant resources in the form of water, wind and solar energy.

Hydropower, wind, and solar energy may be the best forms of clean energy for such ventures to create digital and virtual asset reserves. Fossil fuels, coal and thermal power are the most expensive forms of energy and are not ideally suitable for crypto mining businesses. Pakistan is more reliant on such expensive forms of energy, for which we are paying capacity charges that add to the volume of ever-rising circular debt. The utilisation of expensive electricity may not be beneficial for crypto mining businesses, and this needs to be thoroughly reviewed as a policy for better outcomes in utilising energy for virtual digital assets.

Bitcoin devours more electricity than many countries. There is a long-standing debate on multiple options for utilising cryptocurrency mining to create inexpensive, secure, and reliable digital reserves for economic growth. One can discuss Bitcoin, often considered digital gold, and the amount of electricity its mining consumes. Countries like Iceland, Paraguay and Norway have the largest share of renewables in their energy mix but represent only 1.1 per cent of the Bitcoin network.

The most popular cryptocurrencies in vogue are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, XRP, Cardano, Solana, etc. They have their own value systems determined by the demand and supply mechanism. They are all major energy consumers in their mining operations. Although Pakistan has a capacity of around 45,000MW of electricity generation, it may, as experienced by Iran and Kazakhstan, face the worst kinds of electricity shortages.

Financial experts hold varying viewpoints on the incorporation of cryptocurrencies into national reserves. The government’s decision has already sparked intense debate among political economists and technological circles regarding the best way to utilise cryptocurrency mining to create virtual digital asset reserves in countries like Pakistan. Proponents consider cryptocurrencies, in support of their arguments, as contributing to financial stability, hedging against inflation and being business-friendly. The regulation of cryptocurrencies and their volatility will remain a major concern.

The cybersecurity of digital currencies is another significant concern for policymakers. Financial fraud and the illegal use of money, including terror financing, may become a headache if these currencies are not strictly regulated with strong security protocols in place. Despite all sorts of reservations, most economists today favour cryptocurrency options as the only way forward for the digital world.

There is a real danger that virtual digital currency options may become new cryptocurrency casinos, which must be avoided at all costs. The real economy, based on large-scale manufacturing and industrial growth that boosts exports, needs to be developed. Virtual assets, unless brought under a strict policy framework, often become imaginary reserves. Nevertheless, the importance of digital currencies cannot be overstated, as new digital currencies and stablecoins are becoming new rails for cross-border settlement, avoiding invisible taxes and traditional transfer fees that unnecessarily create hurdles for businesses. If digital currencies are left unregulated, they will expand through informal channels. Smart integration through a strong regulatory framework and oversight may deliver results. Financial inclusion can revolutionise the country’s economy.

A strong policy framework, digital infrastructure and regulatory mechanism can ensure a thriving financial landscape based on virtual asset reserves, transforming Pakistan into a regional digital currency hub. It requires a lot of energy, along with substantial power bills, to keep the crypto regime afloat. Crypto mining using blockchain technology is an expensive affair, burdening the economy itself unless its full potential is exploited. It also entails social and political costs in case of failure. The fallout is so severe that no one can recover from crypto shocks, as seen in the Binance exchange scandal, where billions were lost in no time. Such situations must be avoided at all costs. A strong crypto infrastructure, a well-defined regulatory framework and a robust cybersecurity regime can prevent such scandals. These need to be developed.

Another serious concern is that inequality can dangerously increase, as 38 per cent of the population is uneducated and illiterate and cannot benefit from the rapid modern transition in the field of digital currencies. The example of Nigeria is particularly relevant here, where people could not benefit from the digital transformation in the cryptocurrency world simply because a few wealthy individuals extracted the majority of the value by utilising cryptocurrencies. Wealth concentrated in a few hands, with the elite diaspora outpacing economic growth, creates the specter of inequality, stifling real progress as capital flows into unproductive sectors of the economy. Crypto businesses may become gambling dens. The need of the hour is to avoid such a worst-case scenario in the days to come.

Stringent regulatory conditions enforced through a regulatory framework can help avoid traps in illegal cryptocurrency transfers and plug loopholes. The need of the hour is to empower the people of Pakistan through fast and efficient digital transfer mechanisms, free from invisible taxes and transfer fees. That is quite possible through cryptocurrency. We can revolutionise our economy by creating digital virtual asset reserves, avoiding traditional gold, silver or dollar reserves. The government must ensure a very strong regulatory regime, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity oversight mechanism to prevent any future major crypto scams.

Where the risks loom large in the face of AI-backed crypto and digital currency businesses, there are innumerable benefits and opportunities as well. Pakistan’s crypto bet can transform the entire economic and financial landscape. There is an immediate need to harness cheap power generation potential to help realise the crypto mining digital dream. Renewable clean energy options will work well to capitalize on crypto mining using blockchain technology. Avoiding invisible taxes on transferring money through traditional channels can boost economic transformation.

The risks of attracting FATF conditions are real due to the volatility of cryptocurrency and its payment systems. However, the fact remains that significant investments and trade inflows resulting from the digital cryptocurrency transformation can substantially boost economic growth.

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The writer is a former additional secretary and can be reached at: hassanbaig2009@gmail.com

Among pregnant women with HIV infection, oral rilpivirine-based antiretroviral regimens were associated with similar rates of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes as nonrilpivirine regimens. The prevalence of overall birth defects was lower in the rilpivirine group and did not vary by timing of exposure.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed data from the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry to compare adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes among pregnant women with HIV infection who received oral rilpivirine-containing antiretroviral regimens and those who did not.
• They analyzed 4617 pregnancies from the US between 2011 to 2023 (median maternal age, 29 years); 781 received oral tablets or oral fixed-dose combinations of rilpivirine, and 3836 received regimens without rilpivirine.
• Outcomes included reported stillbirth, induced abortion, and live birth outcomes such as low birth weight (< 2500 g), very low birth weight (< 1500 g), premature birth (< 37 weeks’ gestation), and birth defects.

TAKEAWAY:

• The oral rilpivirine and nonrilpivirine groups had similar prevalence for induced abortion (age-adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.1), stillbirth (aPR, 0.6), premature birth (aPR, 0.8), and very low birth weight (aPR, 0.7; P > .05 for all).
• The prevalence of overall birth defects was lower in the oral rilpivirine group than in the nonrilpivirine group (aPR, 0.4; P = .0054). Similarly, rates of low birth weight were significantly lower in the oral rilpivirine group (aPR, 0.7; P = .0046).
• No significant difference was observed in the prevalence of overall birth defects between offspring of women exposed to oral rilpivirine in the first trimester and offspring of women exposed in the second and/or third trimester.

IN PRACTICE:

“These findings on the safety of oral RPV [rilpivirine]-containing ARV [antiretroviral] regimens in pregnant women and their offspring are reassuring for patients and HCPs [healthcare providers] and further support the use of oral RPV as per the current guidelines for the treatment of HIV infection during pregnancy,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by William R. Short, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. It was published online on September 11, 2025, in HIV Medicine.

LIMITATIONS:

The registry relied on voluntary reports of cases from healthcare providers, which may have led to differential reporting. It was primarily designed to detect teratogenic effects, limiting the robustness of data on pregnancy outcomes. Enrollment of women after negative prenatal testing could have lowered the observed prevalence of birth defects. Moreover, this study could not distinguish the individual effects of other antiretroviral drugs on birth outcomes.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported byJohnson & Johnson. Six authors reported being employees of the funder and disclosed that they may be holding company stock or stock options. Other authors disclosed receiving consultancy fees or honoraria or having other financial ties with pharmaceutical companies.

By Devyani Gholap

 

Oct 8 (Reuters) – French authorities on Wednesday denied an important maritime concession for the Aquind electricity interconnector project, effectively halting progress on the planned high-voltage link between France and the United Kingdom.

While the project received environmental approval in July, the concession required a national-level recognition of public interest, which was not validated, the Seine-Maritime prefecture said in a statement on Wednesday.

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“We are surprised by this decision, given the growing need for interconnection identified at the European level, particularly between France and Great Britain, and the policies implemented in this respect,” said Martin Dubourg, Aquind director for France.

While presenting a risk for the project, the decision does not call into question its relevance or eventual completion, he added.

With a capacity of 2 gigawatts, the interconnector is expected to transmit over 17 TWh of electricity annually between France and Great Britain, according to the project’s website.

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Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to be here to help mark the 10th anniversary of the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) and to further the goal of advancing development through better data.¹ It’s a privilege to be in the presence of so many tribal leaders, Federal Reserve colleagues, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners all working to advance Native economies. My experiences traveling with CICD and engaging in CICD’s work have been a meaningful part of my time at the Federal Reserve.

At the Board of Governors, I serve as the oversight governor for our Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, which supports the community development function across the Federal Reserve System. It’s a role that means a great deal to me. Community development has been a cornerstone of my career—as a governor, banking regulator, and earlier in my career as a scholar, university leader, and the Treasury Department’s point person on community development in the 1990s.

I’d like to focus my remarks today on why I think the work you all are doing is critical to the prosperity of Native nations and Indigenous communities, and why that success matters for our country.

Two years ago, I traveled to western Montana with CICD staff. We visited the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which is home to the Blackfeet Nation, and the Flathead Indian Reservation, which is home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

On our visit, I saw examples of tribal leaders diversifying their economies through tribally owned enterprises—and then leveraging revenues from those enterprises to reinvest in their communities. I heard from business leaders struggling with supply chain challenges and community members pulling together to address housing supply and affordability issues.² At a community roundtable, financial leaders talked about credit needs in their regions including challenges with limited credit and access to financial services and distance from banks.

These issues take center stage in CICD’s research. And in our conversations, research served as a springboard for a variety of community members and leaders to come together to explore solutions. This is why community engagement is a critical part of community development, and a huge value add for the Federal Reserve as we seek to understand how people are experiencing the economy.

I see this same spirit of working together on behalf of a better future—grounded in research—on display here today.

Economic Gaps and Data Needs in Indian Country

There remain persistent economic gaps in Indian Country based on many metrics. Native Americans have lower household income, and poverty is a significant problem on reservations.³ According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED Survey), Native American households consistently report a lower likelihood of having the cash to pay for a $400 emergency expense, which is a common measure of financial security.⁴ Looking at the labor force, unemployment is higher for Native American workers than for workers overall. Research has also documented a lack of financial institutions near reservations, which restricts capital and credit availability. A recent study showed that Native-owned small businesses were less likely to receive the financing they applied for, even though they were much more likely to apply for small amounts of credit.⁵ Native Americans also face a higher cost of homeownership.

Economic downturns can exacerbate gaps, such as when social-distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately harmed sectors such as gaming and entertainment in which many tribally owned businesses are concentrated.

Addressing these persistent challenges requires coordination with local leaders to achieve progress. During my first stint at the Treasury in the 1990s, I co-chaired a working group whose objective was to reduce barriers to mortgage lenders and expand access to credit in Indian Country, with pilot programs in the Navajo Nation and Oglala Sioux Pine Ridge Reservation. The working group helped map out a clearer process for residents to obtain mortgages by coordinating tribal governmental, federal, and lender roles.⁶ I see this as an example of potential progress that can be made when national and local leaders and the private sector leverage research and come together to find solutions, but also as a reminder that these are long-standing problems that are still with us today.

In other ways, tribal governments have been proactive in diversifying their revenue streams and innovating in their use of economic data to make evidence-based decisions. Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are addressing credit gaps in their communities with culturally informed lending practices and financial services. There are many examples of initiatives targeting specific economic challenges. We see signs of progress, including positive trends in Native American employment and household income. But we’ll only know whether we’re making economic gains in Indian Country over time if we have timely, high-quality data disaggregated for Native peoples and geographies. Data dashboards are not just for researchers. They help tribal nations and decisionmakers in many capacities make informed decisions about how to allocate resources, design interventions, and monitor economic growth.

We know that Indian Country has sometimes been referred to as the “asterisk nation” as a result of insufficient sample sizes of Native Americans in national datasets. Experiences in which external researchers used data in ways that were harmful to tribal communities have also contributed to mistrust of research and data in Indian Country. At the same time, many tribal governments have limited resources to allocate toward their own data collection.

Research and Data Advancements

Research and data advancements in Indian Country are changing this narrative. Over the past decade, CICD’s research has advanced our understanding of the pillars of tribal economies and potential interventions.⁷ We’ve learned more about the role of tribal governments and tribal enterprises in local and regional economies, and the ways tribal treasuries are distinctive from those of local and state governments. CICD’s research has helped us understand how infrastructure gaps such as broadband access can impede economic growth and leave communities more vulnerable to economic shocks. And it’s provided research insights on strategies for increasing access to capital and credit in Native communities.

Much of this research has taken place in collaboration with Native organizations, tribal governments, and economic development practitioners. In some of these areas, such as research on the practices and outcomes of Native CDFIs, CICD and its collaborators have provided some of the first systematic quantitative analysis in the field.

CICD has also developed a suite of data tools that empower community members and decisionmakers to explore economic conditions at local to national levels and monitor trends over time.

Indian Country’s Relevance to the Broader Economy

This work to advance economic research and data in Indian Country matters to the overall economy. The Federal Reserve promotes a healthy economy and a stable financial system for everyone, and that simply cannot be done without supporting strong and sustainable communities in Indian Country. Research tells us that Native economies are closely intertwined with local and regional economies. Examples include tribal casinos attracting visitors to surrounding businesses and Native enterprises subcontracting with non-Native-owned businesses.

CICD’s mission supports the Federal Reserve’s community development function, which works to promote access to credit, investment, and financial services in low- and moderate-income communities, and foster a better understanding of their economic conditions. This happens in a few ways.

As members of the Federal Open Market Committee, my colleagues and I decide on the appropriate setting for monetary policy. In this role, it’s vital that we understand how a variety of individuals, institutions, and communities experience the economy. Research from CICD and community development teams here in Minneapolis and across the Federal Reserve System sheds light on economic circumstances in our communities.

As important as it is, monetary policy isn’t the main thing that matters to a healthy economy. Businesses, financial practitioners, nonprofits, community leaders, and decisionmakers at many levels all need research and data to make evidence-based decisions and promote thriving and economically resilient communities. The community development function provides this research and convening power to advance our collective understanding of local financial needs.

Our community development work also provides timely, on-the-ground insights on developments in the financial system. A prime example of this is the series of surveys CICD conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. These surveys provided real-time glimpses of the challenges that tribal governments, businesses, and community leaders were facing as a result of the pandemic.

In addition, under the Community Reinvestment Act, the Federal Reserve has a statutory obligation to supervise how banks meet the credit needs of the communities they serve, consistent with safe and sound lending practices. And that very much includes communities in Indian Country. And we need good data and analysis to fulfill our statutory obligations.

What it comes down to is that the Federal Reserve does our best work when we understand what’s happening in communities, and that includes the rich variety of communities across Indian Country.

Learning from Indian Country

As we look to the future, decisionmakers inside and outside of Indian Country can learn from the ways tribal governments have served their communities and guided their economies through many challenges. In my visits with tribal leaders, I have been inspired by their long-range vision—considering how decisions today will affect their ability to care for their communities for generations into the future.

I’ve also come to appreciate their grit and creativity in meeting community needs, whether it be through starting a tribal bank to meet local financial service needs, leveraging tribal enterprises to create employment opportunities, or innovating in their use of economic data to tailor public services to their communities.

Much has been said about the economic challenges in Indian Country, but perhaps what has impressed me the most in my visits is the sense of optimism for the future from so many people I have met, despite these challenges.

Thank you for the important ways you are coming together to use research and data to propel your communities forward. It’s an honor to be here with you.

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1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text

2. See the Federal Reserve of Minneapolis website at https://www.minneapolisfed.org/speeches/2021/us-senate-testimony-housing-for-native-americans-review-of-federal-programs-barriers-and-opportunities and https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2024/native-americans-pay-more-to-finance-home-purchases-than-white-borrowers. Return to text

3. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Native Community Data Profiles. Return to text

4. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 (Washington: Board of Governors, May 2025). Return to text

5. See the Federal Reserve of Minneapolis website at https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2024/native-entrepreneurs-face-credit-access-challenges. Return to text

6. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of the Treasury, One-Stop Mortgage Center Initiative in Indian Country: A Report to the President (PDF) (Washington, DC: HUD, 1999). Return to text

7. Casey Lozar, Caryn Mohr, and Ryan Nunn, “Insights from a Decade of Economic Research in Indian Country,” article (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: April 3, 2025). Return to text