Pakistan Launches Virtual Asset Framework Using 8 Percent of Budget

The Government of Pakistan has established a comprehensive statutory licensing regime for virtual assets, transitioning from a central bank prohibition to a fully operational framework. The process began with the Virtual Assets Ordinance in July 2025 and culminated in the passage of the Virtual Assets Act in March 2026. In April 2026, the State Bank of Pakistan formally reversed its historical banking embargo on virtual assets.

Speaking at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, Minister of State and Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib announced that the framework was finalized in less than six months. The project cost approximately $200,000, representing only 8 percent of the approved budget, with the remaining 92 percent returned to the national treasury. Bin Saqib attributed this efficiency to the use of small, technology-led teams rather than a large bureaucracy.

The PVARA now oversees ten license categories, including exchange operations, custody, brokerage, asset management, lending, settlement, and token issuance. The regime mandates client asset segregation, cryptographic proof-of-reserves, and adherence to international standards such as the FATF Travel Rule to attract institutional investment. Moving forward, Pakistan intends to regulate stablecoins, programmable payments, tokenized markets, and the financial transactions of autonomous AI agents.