Digital finance

Pakistan Digital Assets

Pakistan moved from restricting crypto to licensing it, creating the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority under the Virtual Assets Act 2026. This hub follows the rules, the tokenisation plans, the exchanges and the investor-protection questions that shape the country's digital-asset market.

10 reportsLatest 2 November 2026
Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan's finance minister, wearing glasses, a dark suit and a light blue tie, seated in front of a Pakistani flag.

Latest development

2 November 2026
Newest report

Pakistan plans to tokenise Eurobond debt as crypto group seeks a unified body

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says Pakistan is reviewing tokenisation of existing Eurobond debt and will seek cabinet approval before inviting proposals.

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The reporting trail

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A man in a blue blazer speaks on a dark stage beside a large screen reading Richard Teng, Head of Regional Markets, Binance.International — World / International — World

Binance reopens withdrawals as customers pull $3.6bn after record hack

Binance reopened withdrawals on 1 November and customers pulled about $3.6bn net, as the FBI blamed North Korea's TraderTraitor unit for the $6.3bn theft.

Two hands pass a physical gold-coloured Bitcoin token in front of a white background covered with the circular logos of other cryptocurrencies.International — World / International — World

Hackers take $6.3 billion from Binance in crypto's largest theft

About $6.36 billion moved out of Binance wallets across ten blockchains in roughly 20 minutes on 29 October, the largest crypto theft on record, with North Korea suspected.

The International Monetary Fund's headquarters building in Washington, a concrete office block with deeply recessed square windows above a plaza and street corner with traffic lights, trees and parked cars.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan's AML authority adds piracy to money-laundering offences and lifts cash threshold to Rs3m

On 27 October Pakistan's AML-CFT Authority made piracy a money-laundering predicate offence, gave the virtual asset regulator reporting powers and set the cash threshold at Rs3m.

An audience seated in a darkened conference hall looking at a brightly lit stage during a cryptocurrency and blockchain conference, with purple and blue stage lighting and a large presentation screen at the back.Pakistan / Technology & Telecom

PVARA's Bilal bin Saqib takes Pakistan's digital-finance push to the World Bank in Bangkok

PVARA chairman Bilal bin Saqib met IFC, Treasury, Digital & AI and Controllers leaders at the World Bank's Bangkok annual meetings on 14 October, exploring tokenised bonds.

The stone exterior and broad tiled roof of the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville against a clear skyInternational — Region / International — Region

G20 finance ministers back push against export subsidies as China dissents in Asheville

Nineteen G20 nations endorsed a US-led chair’s statement targeting industrial overcapacity and trade imbalances, exposing deep diplomatic fractures.

Islamic scholar Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani at a conference in London in 2016.Pakistan / Technology & Telecom

Pakistan crypto regulator meets cleric Taqi Usmani over Shariah fatwa

The head of Pakistan's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority met Mufti Taqi Usmani after a fatwa questioned the Shariah legitimacy of cryptocurrency transactions.

The State Bank of Pakistan headquarters building in Karachi.Pakistan / Business & Finance

SBP legalises virtual assets and sets strict rules for crypto-linked bank accounts

Pakistan's central bank legalised virtual assets under the Virtual Assets Act 2026 and set strict conditions for banks serving licensed crypto firms.

The Parliament House of Pakistan in IslamabadPakistan / Technology & Telecom

Senate passes Virtual Assets Bill to formalise Pakistan's crypto regulator

The Senate passed the Virtual Assets Bill, 2025 on 27 February, moving to give legal cover to the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority before an ordinance lapses in March.

A gold-coloured physical Bitcoin token embossed with the Bitcoin logo resting on the keys of a silver laptop keyboardPakistan / Business & Finance

Senate panel approves Virtual Asset Act 2026, clearing path to legal crypto trade

A Senate committee approved the draft Virtual Asset Act 2026 on 25 February, moving Pakistan toward licensed cryptocurrency trading after an eight-year ban.