Waqar Zaka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Waqar Zaka
Nationality	Pakistani
Occupation	Television host
Years active	2005–present
Known for	Living on the Edge Champions

Waqar Zaka (Urdu: وقار ذکا) is a Pakistani cryptocurrency expert/entrepreneur, winner of the solo trader round of the Bitcoin World Cup organised by Bitget, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges. He is also a television host and activist.

Early life

According to Zaka, he is a 2008-09 batch Civil Engineer of NED University of Engineering & Technology.

Zaka started his career with ARY Digital with a TV reality show Living on the Edge. Waqar then created and hosted reality shows XPOSED, King of Street Magic, Desi Kudiyan and The Cricket Challenge aired on ARY Musik.

During the 2013 Pakistani general election, Zaka ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan from Karachi NA-253 constituency, but was unsuccessful and secured only 31 votes out of the 211,768 total votes cast. Zaka claims he ran to demonstrate how to run for election for his show Main Banoonga Minister; he stated that this was "the only entertaining way of telling our youth how to be a part of the system". He ran on a platform of prioritising and improving access to entertainment and the internet.

In April 2019, Zaka announced a political movement in Pakistan called Tehreek-e-Tech. In May 2019, he apologised to the people for destroying the young minds via his TV reality show Living on the Edge.

Champions with Waqar Zaka

In November 2019, Zaka began hosting a TV reality show, Champions with Waqar Zaka, on BOL Network. In January 2020, the show was banned by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for being "offensive towards social, religious and cultural values of this country". In April 2020, the Islamabad High Court upheld the decision of PEMRA to ban the show.

Following the suspension of Champions, Zaka began hosting a late-night show on YouTube called Headphone Show.

Awards and nominations

In 2017, Zaka received an award from Abdul Qadeer Khan for his social and humanitarian work in the war-torn areas of Syria and Myanmar. Waqar Zaka has been nominated by Binance for the Bananas Influencer Awards 2021 on 25 June. A total of five influencers from around the world were nominated for the award by Binance. He also received the Social Media Icon of the Year 2021 Award in the UAE.

Crypto Mining

Waqar Zaka has started an online academy for cryptocurrency that focuses on simplifying the concepts for the average person. He is also starting Pakistan's first crypto mining farm using hydropower in an attempt to bring Pakistan to the list of most developed countries. Earlier, he had vouched to legalise cryptocurrencies in Pakistan through his political party Tehreek-e-Technology Pakistan.

Achievements

Waqar Zaka formed Pakistan's first blockchain-based microfinance platform named TenUp. He filed the case in the Sindh High Court as a petitioner, without any lawyer, about legalising cryptocurrency in Pakistan and achieved success. Through TenUp, Waqar Zaka has also developed a currency for the use of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). He also claimed that this currency would eradicate the need for PayPal in Pakistan and allow for the fastest transactions. He has been raising awareness about legalising digital currency in Pakistan which can help in paying off the debt of the country and bring it among the wealthiest countries in the world. He also offered free services to entrepreneurs and professionals to develop a blockchain system using cryptocurrency. Due to his efforts, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has launched Pakistan's first advisory committee for cryptocurrency and crypto mining. Advisor to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Science and Technology & Information Technology, Zia Ullah Bangash has also thanked Waqar Zaka for offering cooperation and support to the KP government.

Zaka has several times moved the court against internet censorship. He moved the Islamabad High Court against the ban on a popular multiplayer game, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), which was ruled in his favour. He also filed a case to upgrade the Computer's course in Sindh Board, which was not upgraded since 1997. He filed the case without a lawyer and won it, with the court ordering the Sindh Board to upgrade the syllabus. It was termed a massive achievement for Waqar Zaka by the youth and the media. He also helped save three men accused of blasphemy in Dunga Bunga. He went to the town by taking a flight from Nepal, got the fake FIR removed against them and convinced the mop of fake accusations against the three men. He also streamed the evidence on his Facebook page to highlight the cause of saving minorities in Pakistan.

Waqar Zaka has been appointed as a Crypto Expert by the Government of Pakistan in the advisory committee. The move came in pursuance of the resolution and recommendation of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding Digital Assets. Zaka has vowed to work for free for the country, he announced it on his official Twitter Account.

Waqar Zaka also met the Olympian Arshad Nadeem and presented PKR 1 million for his outstanding performance in Tokyo Olympics 2020 in Javelin Throw.

Waqar Zaka's TenUp Smart, which is Pakistan's first cryptocurrency token, is now listed on an international exchange OKX. Zaka is also partnering with NED University to introduce the first metaverse project of Pakistan.

Zaka received the Social Media Icon of the Year Award 2020 from PISA UAE awards. He was also included in the jury for the PISA Awards 2021.

Zaka is also known for his predictions related to the crypto market. During a live session on his Facebook page, he made $7800 from Bitcoin predictions.

Jury Member of PISA 2021

Zaka was appointed as the expert content maker to become judge of social media awards 2021 and 2022, PISA, Pakistan International Screen Awards UAE & jury member for the entire awards along with the top names from Media industry.

Film Production

Waqar Zaka stepped into film production with his first venture being the upcoming Pakistani film, Babylicious. He is the executive producer of this movie that features Shehroz Sabzwari and Syra Yousuf in lead roles.

Winner of Inaugural Bitcoin World Cup

Waqar Zaka became triumphant in the solo trader round of the

KCGI 2023 Bitcoin Leverage Trading World Cup organised by one of the world's biggest crypto exchanges, Bitget in September 2023. A total of 3600 traders from all parts of the world took part in the competition.