The Centre for Digital Assets Research (CeDAR) at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums) was officially launched on April 24 as per a press release. The centre aims to be a hub of research, training, development and innovation in the areas of decentralised internet, Web 3.0 and digital asset technologies.

It is supported by a generous grant from the Stacks Foundation, founded by Muneeb Ali, a Lums alumnus, the main product of which is a Web 3.0 platform that enables smart contracts on Bitcoin.

To mark its official launch, CeDAR hosted an international conference at Lums to enable connection, knowledge transfer, and collaboration between global experts in the Web 3.0 ecosystem and the regulatory and governmental organisations in Pakistan.

The conference facilitated roundtable conversations with leaders from key domestic stakeholders such as the State Bank of Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and the Pakistan Banking Council.

The event covered key topics such as ways to ensure compliance and regulation for the industry, the utilisation of excess energy for digital asset mining, how digital assets fit in for investment allocation, and how Pakistan can best develop a technical workforce for such technologies. •