Pakistan's Crypto Regulator Pushes Industry to Back AI, Robotics, and Blockchain as Banking Access Opens
PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib convened a private-sector briefing on April 30, calling for increased capital investment in emerging technology sectors fifteen days after the State Bank of Pakistan formally ended its approximately eight-year ban on crypto services.
KARACHI, May 1, 2026 — Pakistan's top virtual assets regulator urged founders, CEOs, technologists, and financial innovators to direct more capital toward artificial intelligence, robotics, and blockchain at an industry briefing on Thursday.
Bilal Bin Saqib, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) and Minister of State, framed the three sectors not as separate verticals but as "interconnected pillars of a technology-led economy." Saqib previously served as CEO and chief adviser of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), which launched in March 2025 with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao named as an adviser, giving him an institutional trajectory that spans both industry promotion and formal regulation.
The meeting also produced a concrete institutional outcome: PVARA will establish a formal consultative group that gives private-sector practitioners a direct seat in shaping the country's regulatory framework for digital assets.
On April 15, the State Bank of Pakistan notified SBP-regulated banks and financial institutions that they are permitted to open accounts for entities holding a valid PVARA license as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
The directive ended a blanket prohibition on crypto services that had been in place since 2018, replacing it with a supervised access model. Banks remain restricted from trading, investing in, or holding crypto with their own or customer funds, but the licensing pathway now exists for exchanges and other service providers to operate through the formal banking system.
Saqib cited approximately $38.3 billion in annual remittances, largely from workers in Gulf states, the United Kingdom, and North America, to build his case for blockchain as financial infrastructure rather than speculative technology. At the same time, more than 100 million adults in the country have no access to formal financial services. "Virtual assets are not just an emerging trend but a foundational component of the future economy," Saqib said at the briefing, according to Daily Pakistan.
More broadly, stablecoin-based remittance channels (stablecoins are digital currencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar) could reduce the cost and friction of those cross-border transfers, a use case consistent with the government's stated interest in digital payment infrastructure and one that gives the regulatory push broad political appeal beyond the trading community.
Pakistan's scale in crypto is already significant. According to the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, the country ranks third worldwide in grassroots adoption, behind only India and the United States, with an estimated 40 million users representing roughly 17 percent of the population. That user base grew before formal regulation existed; analysts note that peer-to-peer platforms and informal channels were the primary access points for most of that period.
The Asia-Pacific region overall recorded $2.36 trillion in on-chain transaction volume in the year ending June 2025, a 69 percent year-over-year increase, according to Chainalysis data.
The regulatory architecture supporting this shift has been built in stages. Pakistan's Parliament passed the Virtual Assets Act 2026 earlier this year, creating PVARA as an autonomous regulator with an 11-member board that includes the SBP Governor, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan chairman, and directors from the Federal Board of Revenue, the Federal Investigation Agency, and the Digital Pakistan Authority, along with key federal secretaries and two independent directors.
In December 2025, PVARA issued No Objection Certificates to Binance and HTX, allowing both exchanges to establish local entities and begin full license applications. A memorandum of understanding with Binance also includes a framework for tokenizing up to $2 billion in state assets.
Separately, the government has allocated 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity for Bitcoin mining and AI data center operations. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb described the energy allocation as a mechanism to attract "billions in foreign investment" while creating high-tech employment. Saqib's call for greater AI investment is nested within a formal national strategy: the government's National Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025, a six-pillar framework, pairs with a Prime Minister-level commitment to $1 billion in national AI investment by 2030, establishing the policy foundation that backs the sector's expansion.
For builders and developers in the region, the PVARA consultative group is the more immediate variable to watch. Its membership and mandate will determine how much influence industry practitioners have over licensing rules for decentralized finance protocols, tokenization platforms, and tools at the intersection of AI and finance.
The Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) adds another layer of incentive: blockchain, AI, and robotics companies operating inside designated zones receive tax and customs holidays under a stable policy environment. STZA has also signed a letter of intent with China's Zhongguancun Belt and Road Industrial Promotion Association covering semiconductors, AI, robotics, fintech, and blockchain.
Pakistan's trajectory broadly parallels Nigeria's regulatory shift in 2024 and 2025, when Nigerian authorities moved from active suppression of crypto activity to a licensed exchange model, citing similar financial inclusion and remittance arguments. That pivot preceded a surge in institutional on-chain activity in Nigeria.
Pakistan appears to be roughly 12 to 18 months behind that arc.
The next concrete milestones to track are the formal publication of PVARA's consultative group membership and the outcome of Binance Pakistan's full license application. Analysts may also watch for whether the SBP issues additional guidance expanding banking access beyond the initial VASP account framework.