Pakistan has moved its crypto rulebook from paper into practice. The country’s Virtual Assets
Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has opened an online licensing portal and given companies already
operating in the market a firm deadline: apply for approval by Sept. 5 or shut down.

As reported by Cointelegraph, the portal went live after PVARA formally notified the regulations
governing crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Firms that were
providing virtual asset services on or before March 5 must submit an application for a no-objection
certificate (NOC) by the September cutoff. Continuing to operate past the deadline without having
filed an application would, the authority says, constitute an offense.

Two routes into the regulated market

PVARA has laid out two pathways. Companies preparing to incorporate locally can pursue an NOC, while
firms that want to trial new products can enter a regulatory sandbox and test under supervision before
seeking a full license. The framework is broad in scope, covering exchanges, custody, broker-dealer
services, lending, derivatives, asset management, token issuance and mining-related services.

The obligations attached to a license lean heavily on consumer protection. Licensed providers will
be required to keep customer holdings separate from their own assets, and cannot lend or pledge those
customer assets without written consent. The rules also mandate controls around governance, market
conduct, cybersecurity, operational resilience and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism
financing.

From legislation to enforcement

The launch caps a rapid regulatory build-out. Pakistan’s parliament passed the Virtual Assets Act in
March, establishing PVARA as the sector’s dedicated authority, and the framework was finalized after a
public consultation. According to Cointelegraph, the State Bank of Pakistan subsequently authorized
banks to serve licensed VASPs, closing a gap that has historically kept crypto businesses at arm’s
length from the formal banking system.

Some players have already secured a foothold. PVARA issued preliminary NOCs to Binance and HTX back
in December 2025, allowing those exchanges to set up local subsidiaries and prepare full license
applications. With the regulations now notified, that process can advance.

For a market that has long operated in a legal grey zone, the opening of the portal marks a decisive
shift. Rather than tolerating an informal ecosystem, Pakistan is pushing domestic and overseas
operators alike to either enter a defined compliance regime or leave the market. Whether the roughly
two-week runway proves realistic for smaller firms will be one of the first tests of how workable the
new system really is.

Written for Red Robot with AI assistance and human editing. Based on reporting by Cointelegraph.