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Pakistan's Virtual Assets Act 2026 empowers PVARA to license and police crypto services
On March 6 2026, Pakistan's parliament approved the Virtual Assets Act 2026, creating the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) to oversee the country's digital asset sector. The law authorizes PVARA to license exchanges, custodians, wallet providers, token issuers, and lending platforms, with unlicensed activity facing fines up to PKR 50 million, separate penalties for unauthorized token offerings, and possible prison terms. The framework embeds AML and Sharia compliance requirements, follows earlier NOCs for major exchanges and a tokenization MOU with Binance, and is expected to influence regional regulators such as India.