ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet this week approved the summary to create the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), the office of the minister of state on blockchain and crypto said, describing it a “landmark step” to oversee the country’s rapidly growing digital assets ecosystem.
The development takes place less than four months after the government set up the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) in March to create a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading to lure international investment. In April, Pakistan introduced its first-ever policy framework to set rules for how digital money like cryptocurrencies and the companies that deal in it should operate in Pakistan while in May, Islamabad also unveiled the country’s first government-led strategic bitcoin reserve at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.
The office of the minister of state for blockchain and cryptocurrency described the cabinet’s approval as a “landmark step” toward establishing a comprehensive legal and institutional framework to oversee the country’s rapidly growing digital assets ecosystem.
“The proposed authority will operate as an independent regulator dedicated to licensing, monitoring, and supervising virtual asset service providers (VASPs), while ensuring full alignment with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines and international best practices,” the statement said on Monday.
It added that the authority will also oversee public protection mechanisms, anti-money laundering protocols and cyber risk mitigation across virtual asset transactions within the country.
The statement said the government’s coordinated approach, combining sovereign asset reserves, surplus energy deployment and robust regulation, reflects Pakistan’s ambition to become a “digital assets hub” in South Asia.
“By building trust, attracting foreign investment, and fostering innovation in the blockchain sector, Pakistan is setting the foundations for a secure, inclusive, and future-proof digital economy,” the state minister’s office said.
It described Pakistan as being among the world’s “promising” frontier markets for digital assets, saying it has over 40 million crypto users and an estimated annual trading volume of $300 billion which was occurring through informal channels as per industry sources.
Pakistan’s move to adopt digital currency is a significant shift for it, considering it had previously banned cryptocurrency transactions in 2018 citing financial risks and lack of regulation.
