ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani Senate committee approved a draft bill to regulate virtual assets on Wednesday, paving the way for cryptocurrency trading to become legal in the country.
Pakistan has been undertaking efforts over the past couple of months in drafting rules to regulate the fast-expanding market for digital coins and tokens, requiring virtual-asset service providers to obtain government approval. Islamabad’s moves to adopt digital currency is a significant shift in policy, considering it had previously banned cryptocurrency transactions in 2018 citing financial risks and lack of regulation.
Last month, Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with a company affiliated with the World Liberty Financial, a crypto-based finance platform launched in September 2024 and linked to US President Donald Trump’s family. The agreement explores the use of a dollar-linked stablecoin for cross-border payments.
Pakistan Senate’s Standing Committee on Cabinet approved the draft “Virtual Asset Act 2026” during a meeting on Wednesday. The bill relates to the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority’s mandate (PVARA) and its power to issue licenses.
“So under the new law, what will happen is that there will be an authority which already exists, the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA), that will have the power to give licenses in which crypto coins can be issued, in which mining can be done, and they will be able to regulate the whole (crypto) market,“” Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, a member of the committee, told Arab News.
