Key Highlights

  • Pakistan’s central bank has allowed banks to open accounts for licensed virtual asset service providers, reversing a restriction that had been in place since 2018.

  • The move follows the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, and brings crypto firms into Pakistan’s formal banking system under AML and compliance requirements.

  • Banks still cannot trade, invest in, or hold crypto assets for themselves or for clients, even as they begin serving licensed firms.

Pakistan’s central bank has allowed banks to open accounts for licensed virtual asset service providers, formally reversing a 2018 restriction that kept most crypto businesses outside the banking system. The change was announced on April 15 through a State Bank of Pakistan circular and a statement from the country’s virtual asset regulator.


The move follows the enactment of Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Act, 2026, and marks the country’s first formal step toward bringing crypto-related businesses into regulated finance under anti-money-laundering and compliance rules.


Under the new framework, banks must verify licenses issued by the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority before onboarding firms. They are also required to keep segregated, non-interest-bearing client accounts in Pakistani rupees. 


The central bank said lenders will remain responsible for due diligence, risk profiling, and suspicious transaction reporting. Banks are still barred from investing in, trading, or holding virtual assets with either their own money or customer funds.

“This is a foundational step in bringing virtual assets into the formal financial system of Pakistan,” Bilal bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, said in the regulator’s statement. 


The policy shift comes as Pakistan moves to build a regulated digital asset market and engage global crypto firms. The country has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Binance to explore tokenizing as much as $2 billion in assets and has granted initial clearance to Binance and HTX to begin the licensing process. 


Pakistan has also struck a deal with an affiliate of World Liberty Financial to explore stablecoin-based cross-border payments. If you want, I can also give you matching Key Highlights for this one in the same style as the previous article.