Bilal Bin Saqib, Minister of State and chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), addressed the 2nd Leadership Summit on Blockchain and Digital Assets at LUMS in Lahore on the closing day of the two-day event (May 2 and 3, 2026), calling on the government to move decisively. Approximately 40 million Pakistanis, roughly 17 percent of the population, are already engaged with digital assets through informal channels. The summit, hosted by the LUMS Centre for Digital Assets Research (CeDAR), brought together regulators, legislators, and industry figures to assess the country's regulatory progress and identify what comes next.

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A Regulatory Framework Taking Shape

Pakistan's shift from blanket prohibition to active regulation has been swift. The State Bank of Pakistan maintained a nationwide crypto ban from 2018 until April 2026, when it issued new guidelines under circulars FECL6 and FECL7, permitting regulated banks to open accounts for businesses holding PVARA licences. Banks remain prohibited from trading or holding crypto assets directly, but the policy change unlocks basic banking infrastructure for licensed virtual asset service providers (VASPs) for the first time.

The broader legal foundation arrived earlier this year when parliament passed the Virtual Assets Act 2026 through both chambers. It establishes penalties for unlicensed operations including fines up to PKR 50 million (approximately $179,000 USD) and up to five years in prison. Notably, the Act also creates a Shariah Advisory Committee, making Pakistan one of the first countries to formally embed Islamic finance principles into a national crypto regulatory structure. PVARA itself was first established by presidential ordinance in July 2025, growing out of the Pakistan Cryptocurrency Council (PCC), which had been created in March 2025. The authority moved from that founding to a functioning regulatory body with exchange preliminary approvals in under a year.

Bin Saqib framed the legislative progress in blunt terms. "A year ago, Pakistan's digital asset landscape was defined by uncertainty and grey areas," he said. "Today, we have the country's first Act of Parliament." He also identified a structural constraint that could slow implementation when speaking at the summit: "The biggest gap at the moment is talent."

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The Numbers Behind the Push

Pakistan ranked third globally in the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind India and the United States but ahead of Vietnam and Brazil. According to MEXC, the country processed an estimated $25 billion in crypto transactions in 2025. The broader Asia-Pacific region, where Pakistan sits, recorded a 69 percent year-on-year increase in on-chain value received in the 12 months ending June 2025, the fastest growth rate of any region globally.

The remittance angle gives this regulatory push its clearest economic rationale. Pakistan received roughly $38 billion in remittances in the current fiscal year, a figure that represents approximately 9 to 10 percent of GDP. Malik Bostan, chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, has argued that blockchain-based settlement infrastructure could reduce transaction costs from around 6 percent to roughly 1 percent, potentially lifting annual inflows substantially. In an April 2026 interview with ProPakistani, Bostan put the projection directly: "Remittance inflows will jump significantly to $50 billion from the current approximately $38 billion when cryptocurrencies are legalised."

A non-binding agreement signed with Binance targets the tokenisation of up to $2 billion in sovereign bonds, treasury bills, and commodity reserves. Binance and crypto exchange HTX, formerly Huobi, both hold preliminary No Objection Certificates from PVARA, granted in December 2025, allowing them to register with Pakistan's anti-money laundering system ahead of full licence applications. PVARA has also named asset-backed tokenisation of real estate and financial instruments as an early regulatory priority, a focus that speaks directly to the financial inclusion potential of drawing informal users into a structured market.

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Regional Stakes

Pakistan's regulatory arc carries significance well beyond its borders. India, a far larger economy and the top-ranked country on the same Chainalysis adoption index, still lacks equivalent parliamentary-level crypto legislation despite years of deliberation; it has instead imposed a 30 percent tax on crypto gains without establishing the licensing and oversight framework Pakistan is now building. Pakistan's move positions it as a more defined jurisdiction for exchange operators, blockchain developers, and Gulf-based capital that has historically routed through clearer regulatory environments in the UAE and Singapore.

The freelance economy adds another layer. Pakistani freelancers earned $856 million in foreign exchange in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, a 50 percent increase year on year, with the sector on track to exceed $1 billion annually. With PayPal unavailable in Pakistan and access to comparable international payment platforms absent, crypto payments are a practical tool for many of the country's 2.3 million active freelancers, not a speculative position.

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What Comes Next

PVARA's regulatory sandbox is live and accepting pilot applications, though the authority issued an advisory in April 2026 requiring all stablecoin, tokenisation, and blockchain pilots to obtain prior authorisation before any public announcement. Teams building Pakistan-facing products need a No-Action Relief Letter or NOC before going public with plans.

The Virtual Assets Act 2026 still requires presidential assent to take full legal effect. Once signed, it will give PVARA statutory enforcement powers and formally conclude the transition from an ordinance-based body to a legislatively grounded regulator. Pakistan now holds a meaningful head start over regional peers on regulatory architecture; whether it can close the talent gap Bin Saqib named at the summit, and build the technical and institutional workforce needed to operate that architecture at scale, is the variable that will determine whether the framework delivers on its ambitions.