Around 40 million Pakistanis—equivalent to four crore people—now hold cryptocurrency-linked accounts, highlighting the rapid growth of digital assets in the country. The figure was shared by Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib during a briefing to a Senate committee.
A large number of these accounts were opened before Pakistan introduced a formal regulatory framework, meaning users previously operated largely outside official oversight. Authorities are now working to bring the rapidly expanding crypto sector under a proper legal and regulatory system.
Pakistan has established PVARA under the Virtual Assets Act 2026, giving the authority responsibility for licensing, supervising and regulating virtual-asset businesses. Under the new framework, virtual-asset service providers must obtain approval or a licence to legally operate in Pakistan.
The government sees regulation as a way to protect consumers, improve transparency, tackle financial crimes and bring digital-asset activity into the formal economy. Officials are also considering how cryptocurrency should be treated under the country’s tax system.
Existing virtual-asset service providers have been given September 5, 2026, as a deadline to submit applications for no-objection certificates, with operators that fail to comply required to cease operations.
The reported 40-million-user figure places Pakistan among the world’s largest crypto markets and demonstrates the growing interest of its young population in digital finance. The challenge now is turning a largely informal market into a regulated ecosystem that supports innovation while protecting investors.
