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Pakistan opens crypto licensing portal under Virtual Assets Act

The framework marks an end to roughly a decade of prohibition and points to a process for providers to get licensed under the new rules.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Regulation

Pakistan has launched a crypto licensing push as it moves forward with its first comprehensive legal framework for virtual assets. In an X post Friday, Bilal Bin Saqib, the special assistant to the prime minister on blockchain and cryptocurrency, invited foreign businesses to come to Pakistan and set up operations under licensing rules.

The Virtual Assets Act establishes oversight for virtual assets and the businesses operating in the sector. Pakistan’s senate approved the act earlier this year, and President Asif Ali Zardari signed it into law, with Friday’s announcement indicating that licensing regulations are now in place through a newly opened licensing portal.

Bin Saqib said the country’s previous approach was “complete permission and complete ban” for virtual assets and framed the new step as opening a clear, enforceable “front door” for companies outside Pakistan to get licensed, get banked, and build under the updated regime.

Pakistan has also taken additional crypto-adjacent steps in recent years, including plans announced in 2025 to launch a national strategic Bitcoin reserve and an initiative allocating 2,000 MW of surplus electricity to Bitcoin mining and AI data centers, according to the Pakistani government.

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