Pakistan has set 5 September 2026 as the deadline for virtual-asset businesses operating in the country to apply for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or immediately shut down their operations.
The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) said businesses that were providing virtual-asset services on or before 5 March 2026 must submit their NOC applications by the deadline under the Virtual Assets Act, 2026.
PVARA is responsible for licensing and supervising virtual-asset service providers, with its regulatory framework covering crypto exchanges, custody, broker-dealer services, transfers, derivatives, asset management, token issuance and mining-related activities.
PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib said the introduction of clear regulations marks a turning point for the virtual assets sector, which had previously operated without a defined regulatory pathway. He noted, “We now have the rules, the regulator and the licensing framework to bring virtual assets into the formal economy, protect consumers and build the foundation for the next generation of financial infrastructure. Today we built the rules. Now we build the opportunity.”
Pakistan’s stance on cryptocurrencies has been ambiguous for many years. By creating a legal framework for virtual assets and associated service providers, the Virtual Assets Act, 2026 fills the void. With features centred on investor safety, transparency, market integrity, and protections against money laundering and terrorist financing, PVARA characterises the Act as Pakistan’s first comprehensive legal framework for regulating virtual assets and virtual asset service providers.
The regulations named the Pakistan Virtual Asset Services Regulations, 2026, and the Pakistan Virtual Asset Services Activity Specific Regulations, 2026 were released on 21 August 2026, and they are listed now in the portal of PVARA. The Virtual Assets Act provided the regulatory body and the regulatory system that is the basis for the regulations.
The process begins with a No-Objection Certificate (NOC), which PVARA describes as preliminary approval that allows an applicant to move towards formal VASP licensing. According to the regulator, the process then progresses through compliance requirements, Financial Monitoring Unit registration where applicable, local incorporation, and ultimately the issuance of a full VASP licence.
8 years of prohibition end today.
Chairman PVARA @BilalBinSaqib announces the notification of the Licensing Regulations and the opening of the licensing portal, and sets out what licensing requires of providers and what it guarantees consumers.
Get licensed. Get compliant. Come… pic.twitter.com/STVPsoX1so
— Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (@PakistanVARA) August 21, 2026
PVARA defines the NOC as preliminary approval that allows an applicant to proceed with the licensing process. The regulator’s pathway includes additional compliance requirements, local incorporation and the eventual submission of a VASP licence application.
Preliminary approval and full licence differ in ways that are comparable to those in many regulated financial industries. PVARA’s licensing material states that candidates must fulfil certain standards, such as minimum capital thresholds dependent on licence category and Pakistani business registration.
The framework also covers governance, cybersecurity, operational resilience, market conduct, risk management and the protection of client assets. Compliance extends beyond submitting company documents and applies to how a business operates. For crypto companies that have operated globally through a single technology platform, this may require changes to legal structures, compliance functions, customer onboarding processes, reporting systems and internal controls.
PVARA’s licensing process follows a set sequence. According to the regulator, the process begins with an NOC application, followed by NOC issuance, completion of regulatory requirements, establishment of a subsidiary under Pakistan’s Companies Act 2017, and submission of a VASP licence application.
The well-known exchange sites like Binance and HTX have already gone through some stages of the regulatory process in Pakistan. The information released from PVARA states that both exchanges received NOCs in December of 2025. The exchanges may proceed to full licensing under the transition process.
PVARA offers a Regulatory Sandbox that allows businesses to test new products under regulatory supervision. According to the regulator, the sandbox-to-licence pathway lets companies operate within defined limits on scope, duration and customer numbers before meeting exit requirements and moving towards a VASP licence. A licence is not assured by taking part in the sandbox. The testing stage and the official licence procedure are handled differently by PVARA. Before they can get a licence and grow, startups still need to meet regulatory standards.
Anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terror financing (CFT) regulations are intimately linked to Pakistan’s regulatory strategy. PVARA claims that its structure, which includes controls over customer and financial data, sanctions screening, and reporting of questionable activities, is in line with worldwide FATF standards.
