The former finance minister has raised concerns over a $2 billion tokenization deal with Binance.
According to reports, the government has signed an agreement with Binance Investments for the tokenization of real-world assets worth $2 billion. This initiative marks Pakistan’s first formal step toward the blockchain-based distribution of sovereign assets. However, questions have been raised regarding the transparency of the selection process and the absence of other major global asset tokenization companies from the project.
These concerns were voiced by former finance minister Asad Umar in a post on social media platform X on Saturday. According to Asad Umar, the Government of Pakistan has entered into a $2 billion real-world asset tokenization agreement with Binance. He questioned what process was followed to select Binance, noting that it is neither a major global player in asset tokenization nor widely regarded as highly credible for such work.
The former finance minister asked the current government whether leading global players in asset tokenization—such as BlackRock, UBS, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and HSBC—were invited to participate in the process. He said this is Pakistan’s first step into digital tokenization, and the first transaction will lay the foundation for trust and long-term success. He emphasized that it is crucial for the decision-making process to be conducted in a transparent manner.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Binance Investments Company Limited. The MoU was signed between Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb and Binance CEO Richard Teng, in the presence of Binance Council advisor Changpeng Zhao.
