Pakistan’s parliament passed the Virtual Assets Act, 2026 on Wednesday, establishing the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) as the country’s digital asset regulator. PVARA, created in July 2025, is empowered to enforce licensing requirements and oversee digital asset service providers.
Under the law, PVARA will also set and enforce anti‑money laundering measures and ensure compliance with international sanctions. PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib said, “With no objection certificates (NOCs) already issued and banking rails being developed in coordination with the State Bank of Pakistan, we are now moving toward a comprehensive licensing framework aligned with global AML and financial integrity standards.”
The bill passed both the Senate and the National Assembly and now awaits the signature of President Asif Ali Zardari to become law.
The legislation follows earlier policy shifts: in November 2024 Pakistan moved to regulate cryptocurrencies as legal tender, reversing prior regulatory opposition. Since then the government has announced a Bitcoin strategic reserve and allocated 2,000 megawatts of electricity for mining and AI data centers. Bin Saqib has described digital assets as the foundation of a “new financial rail for the global south” and called blockchain technology critical infrastructure.
In January, Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with SC Financial Technologies, an affiliate of World Liberty Financial, to explore using the USD1 stablecoin for digital payments, including cross‑border transactions and remittances. Binance co‑founder Changpeng Zhao has said Pakistan could emerge as a global hub for digital assets by 2030 if regulatory and development momentum continues. Pakistan also ranked near the top of Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index.