Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has officially opened its licensing system, requiring existing virtual asset service providers to apply for a no-objection certificate by Sept. 5 or stop operating in the country, the regulator announced.
The framework, launched under the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, covers at least 10 categories of activity, including advisory services, broker-dealer operations, custody, exchanges, lending and borrowing, derivatives, virtual asset management, transfer and settlement, token issuance and mining-related services. Existing firms that were already providing virtual asset services on or before March 5 fall under transitional provisions and must submit an NOC application through PVARA’s portal by the deadline. After Sept. 5, continuing operations without an application will constitute an offense under Section 70 of the Virtual Assets Act.
To secure a full VASP licence, applicants must establish a company in Pakistan under the Companies Act 2017, meet minimum paid-up capital requirements tied to their licence category, and ensure directors and key personnel pass fit-and-proper checks. Licensed providers must segregate customer assets from company funds, obtain written consent before lending or pledging client holdings, and maintain anti-money laundering, transaction monitoring, cybersecurity and business continuity controls. PVARA Chairman and Minister of State Bilal Bin Saqib said the regime sets standards covering consumer protection, governance, compliance and market integrity.
The licensing structure also connects approved crypto businesses to Pakistan’s banking system following the State Bank of Pakistan’s Circular No. 10 of 2026, which allowed regulated financial institutions to provide accounts to PVARA-licensed VASPs. That policy ended an eight-year restriction on banking services for regulated digital asset providers. Banks must verify licences, perform due diligence and monitor accounts, while financial institutions cannot use their own capital or customer deposits to trade or hold virtual assets.
Binance and HTX received preliminary approvals in December 2025 and can now proceed toward full licences. Pakistan also signed a non-binding agreement with Binance to study tokenization of up to $2 billion in state-owned assets, including sovereign bonds, Treasury bills and commodity reserves. Separately, the Federal Investigation Agency created a crypto unit in July to investigate suspected use of virtual assets in money laundering, terrorism financing and other crimes.
PVARA said the final rules followed a public consultation held from June 11 through July 2 and represent a formal pathway for domestic and overseas providers to continue accessing Pakistan’s market under regulatory oversight.
