Pakistan Sets September 5 Deadline for Crypto Firms to Secure Licenses

Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has opened its licensing process under the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, and given existing virtual‑asset service providers a strict deadline to obtain a no‑objection certificate (NOC) or cease operations.

Deadline and Compliance Requirements

All providers that were operating when the law took effect on March 5, 2026 must submit a complete NOC application by September 5, 2026. Applications filed on time may continue operating while under review. Failure to meet the deadline requires an immediate halt to services and constitutes an offense under Section 70 of the Act.

Scope of the New Licensing Regime

PVARA’s licensing categories cover a wide range of activities, including custody, broker‑dealer services, lending, derivatives, asset management, transfers, token issuance, and mining or validation. Licensed firms must segregate customer assets, obtain written consent before using client funds, and comply with cybersecurity, governance, KYC, transaction monitoring, and suspicious‑activity reporting obligations. Directors and key personnel are subject to suitability tests, and firms must meet local incorporation and minimum capital requirements.

Banking Access as a Key Incentive

An April 14 circular from the State Bank of Pakistan now permits regulated banks to provide accounts—including segregated customer accounts—to licensed virtual‑asset businesses, ending the 2018 restrictions that barred such relationships.

Early Movers: Binance and HTX

Binance and HTX obtained preliminary NOCs in December 2025, giving them a head start in the licensing process. Both platforms can follow the NOC‑to‑license pathway or join a regulatory sandbox for supervised product testing.

Implications for the Market

Pakistan’s crypto user base is estimated at 30‑40 million, with billions of dollars already flowing through digital assets. The new regime aims to bring this activity into the formal financial system, supporting use cases such as remittances, cross‑border payments, digital exports, trade finance, and tokenized securities.

Next Steps

After the September 5 deadline, regulators will review applications, potentially imposing temporary limits on onboarding, product offerings, transaction volumes, or custody arrangements while assessments are completed.