Pakistan — crypto regulation

Status: partial · Last reviewed 2026-11-05

Pakistan has moved from an effective ban to a statutory licensing regime. The Virtual Assets Act 2026 (passed Mar 2026) replaced the 2025 Ordinance and made PVARA the statutory regulator; PVARA has issued the Virtual Asset Services Regulations 2026 and activity-specific regulations and opened its licensing portal in Aug 2026, with existing operators required to apply for an NOC by 5 Sep 2026 or cease operations. In Apr 2026 the State Bank of Pakistan lifted its eight-year banking restriction, allowing banks to serve PVARA-licensed VASPs through segregated client money accounts. Binance and HTX hold NOCs but no full licences had been granted as of the latest reports. A 15% flat tax applies to crypto profits.

Legislation