The State Bank of Pakistan has officially lifted its seven-year ban on providing services to cryptocurrency firms, notifying all banks and financial institutions that they can now offer services to these companies. However, banks are still barred from using their own funds or customer deposits to invest in, trade, or hold cryptocurrency assets. This move follows the recent passage of the 2026 Virtual Assets Act, which established the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA) to oversee the sector.
The new rules allow regulated banks to open accounts for crypto firms that have been approved by PVARA, provided they comply with strict anti-money laundering, know-your-customer, and counter-terrorism financing regulations. The central bank has outlined detailed conditions for onboarding crypto firms, including mandatory license verification, enhanced due diligence, and ongoing transaction supervision. This development comes after the Pakistani government signed a memorandum of understanding with Binance to explore tokenizing up to $2 billion in bonds, treasury bills, and commodity reserves. The country's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has also announced plans to accelerate crypto adoption, leverage Bitcoin mining, and launch a national stablecoin, with approximately 40 million people, or 17% of the population, already involved in crypto trading.