Pakistan opens crypto licensing as its regulator declares the prohibition era over
Pakistan's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (
@PakistanVARA) notified its licensing regulations Friday and opened the application portal, with Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib (
@BilalBinSaqib) declaring eight years of prohibition over. "Get licensed. Get compliant. Come build in Pakistan," he said.
Existing providers must apply for No Objection Certificates by September 5 or cease operations under the Virtual Assets Act. Pakistan ranked third in Chainalysis's 2025 global crypto adoption index.