Virtual assets pact or pilot project: Prior authorization is a must: PVARA

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) said on Monday that any agreement or pilot project involving virtual assets requires prior authorisation.

In an advisory published on Monday, the authority said it had noted recent public announcements by financial institutions regarding memoranda of understanding, pilot projects, and partnerships involving virtual assets, including the use of stablecoins for remittances and cross-border payments.

“Under the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, the provision of virtual asset services to users in Pakistan, including the issuance, transfer, custody, exchange, or arrangement of virtual assets, stablecoins and allied blockchain-based solutions, falls within the regulatory ambit of PVARA,” the authority said.

“Any agreement or announced pilot that results in, or directly enables, the provision of such services requires prior authorisation from the PVARA,” it added.

It further emphasised that public announcements of such initiatives without prior engagement with the authority might “give rise to regulatory, reputational and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliance risks”, including the possibility that the proposed activity might “not lawfully proceed.”

It said that it was committed to enabling “responsible innovation”.

“Any person (whether natural or legal) contemplating virtual asset pilots, stable coin use cases, blockchain-based allied solutions, or tokenisation structures should engage early with PVARA through the regulatory sandbox, no-action relief letters, or the no-objection certificate process, and seek prior authorisation,” it said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026