Pakistan’s parliament has passed the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, formally creating the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) as the country’s regulator for digital assets. PVARA, which was established in July 2025, is authorized to license and supervise digital asset service providers and to implement compliance requirements across the sector.
The law gives PVARA responsibility for anti‑money laundering rules and enforcement of international sanctions. PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib said that ‘no objection certificates (NOCs) have already been issued and banking rails are being developed in coordination with the State Bank of Pakistan,’ adding that the authority is now moving toward ‘a comprehensive licensing framework aligned with global AML and financial integrity standards.’
The bill cleared both the Senate and the National Assembly and now awaits President Asif Ali Zardari’s signature to become law.
The legislation follows a series of policy shifts that have opened Pakistan to digital assets. In November 2024 the government moved to regulate cryptocurrencies as legal tender, reversing earlier opposition. Since then officials have announced a Bitcoin strategic reserve and allocated 2,000 megawatts of electricity to support mining operations and AI data centers. Bin Saqib has described digital assets as the basis for ‘a new financial rail for the global south’ and has called blockchain technology critical infrastructure.
Earlier this year 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 transfers and remittances. Binance co‑founder Changpeng Zhao has said Pakistan could become a global digital‑asset hub by 2030 if regulatory and development momentum continues. The country also ranked near the top of Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index.