Bilal bin Saqib, minister of state and chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), widely regarded as Pakistan’s “crypto czar”, has been at the forefront of shaping the country’s digital asset regulatory framework, driving efforts to build a transparent and innovation-friendly ecosystem.
Drawing on years of public service and leadership in developing Pakistan’s digital finance architecture, Saqib, in an interview with Business a.m.’s Onome Amuge, offers insights on how the legislation will impact markets, investors and innovation, and what countries like Nigeria can learn as they develop their digital asset frameworks. Excerpts:
What motivated the transition from a presidential ordinance to full parliamentary legislation with the Virtual Assets Act 2026, and why was this step important for Pakistan’s digital finance ecosystem?
The ordinance was an essential first step. It allowed Pakistan to move quickly, establish PVARA, and begin putting order around a market that had grown rapidly without a dedicated legal framework. But an ordinance is, by nature, temporary. Moving to full parliamentary legislation was important because it gave the framework permanence and institutional certainty. It showed that legislators are serious, engaged, and understand what’s at stake. We were able to raise awareness and bring parliamentarians into the conversation that evolved into a national policy debate and then an Act of Parliament. The Act signals that Pakistan is not experimenting at the margins, but making a long-term national commitment to responsible digital finance.
In practical terms, how will this Act change the way digital asset businesses operate in Pakistan?
In practical terms, it changes the market from informal participation to regulated participation. Virtual asset businesses that want to operate in Pakistan now have a clear route: licensing, supervision, conduct requirements, AML and CFT compliance, cybersecurity expectations, and regulatory accountability. The Act empowers PVARA to issue, vary, suspend, and revoke licences, prescribe standards, and enforce rules. It also creates consequences for operating outside the framework, including penalties for unlicensed activity. So the message is very simple: Pakistan is open for business, but only to those willing to operate transparently and comply with the rules.
Investor protection is a key concern in digital assets. What specific safeguards does the new framework introduce to protect retail and institutional investors?
Investor protection is at the heart of the framework. The Act gives PVARA legal authority to enforce safeguards across three layers. First, operational integrity: cybersecurity, data protection, and risk management standards that businesses must meet. Second, market conduct: penalties for manipulation, insider trading, and abuse. Third, recourse: a dedicated appellate tribunal so investors have a formal dispute resolution pathway. For retail investors, that means stronger protections against abuse and opacity. For institutional investors, it means predictable rules, enforceable standards, and a regulator with teeth.
How does the Act align Pakistan with international financial standards and regulatory expectations?
This framework brings Pakistan into alignment with global regulatory standards. The Ministry of Finance and PVARA built the regime on AML/CFT, and FATF compliance from the start. The Act mandates coordination with the Financial Monitoring Unit, embeds AML/CFT obligations into licensing requirements, and explicitly addresses money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. That is exactly the architecture international markets and institutions like the IMF and World Bank look for when assessing credibility.
You have often emphasised regulatory clarity as a driver of innovation. How does this law help attract technology entrepreneurs and blockchain startups to Pakistan?
Innovation does not thrive in legal ambiguity. Entrepreneurs and startups need to know what is permitted, what is prohibited, what standards apply, and how they can scale responsibly. This law gives them that clarity. It tells serious builders that Pakistan is open for compliant innovation in blockchain, tokenisation, digital finance, and virtual asset infrastructure. It also provides confidence that there is now an institution with a defined mandate to support responsible innovation, not just police it. That is critical, because founders are far more likely to invest time, talent, and capital in a jurisdiction where the rules are visible and predictable.
What opportunities does this framework create for fintech companies and digital asset innovators?
The framework enables and encourages compliant innovation across payments, custody, tokenized assets, stablecoin infrastructure, blockchain services, and digital finance. For the first time, innovators can build these businesses in Pakistan with regulatory clarity and legal protection. PVARA has been explicit about opportunities in remittances, tokenization, and blockchain adoption. The legislation itself recognizes distributed ledger technology as foundational infrastructure for Pakistan’s digital economy. For innovators, that means the state is no longer looking at this sector only through the lens of risk. It is also looking at it through the lens of infrastructure, financial inclusion, and economic modernization.
How do you see the Act affecting Pakistan’s position in the global digital finance landscape?
I believe it materially strengthens Pakistan’s position. For years, Pakistan was seen as a large and highly active market without a dedicated statutory framework. This Act changes that perception. It tells the world that Pakistan intends to be a credible, rules-based jurisdiction for digital assets. It also gives international firms, investors, and counterparties something they value deeply: a regulator with statutory powers, a legal framework backed by Parliament, and an enforcement regime with real teeth. That combination makes Pakistan far more legible to global capital and global technology players.
What opportunities could this regulatory clarity create for partnerships between Pakistani fintech firms and international technology companies?
Regulatory clarity is often the difference between exploratory conversations and real partnerships. International technology companies want legal certainty, regulatory counterparties, and defined compliance expectations before they commit resources. With the Act in place, Pakistani firms can engage global exchanges, infrastructure providers, stablecoin issuers, custodians, and fintech partners from a much stronger position. We have already seen public signals of international engagement around Pakistan’s market, including expressions of interest and proposed collaborations linked to tokenization and market entry. That becomes much easier when both domestic and foreign players can operate within a recognized framework rather than in uncertainty.
Many emerging economies are still developing their digital asset regulations. What lessons from Pakistan’s approach could be relevant for countries like Nigeria, which are also exploring digital asset frameworks?
Three things stand out.
First, a regulation framework is not a choice between openness and control. Instead, it should enable innovation while managing risk. Pakistan built a system where licensing creates visibility, consumer safeguards reduce harm, and AML/CFT compliance earns international credibility.
Second, move from temporary executive action to durable parliamentary legislation. An ordinance can create momentum, but markets need permanence. Only parliamentary legislation delivers that.
Finally, regulate not only to contain harm but to unlock strategic opportunities in payments, remittances, tokenization, and digital entrepreneurship. Emerging economies can’t afford to treat this sector purely as a risk management exercise. It is infrastructure that provides strategic economic opportunity.
Do you foresee greater cross-border collaboration between digital asset markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as regulatory frameworks mature?
Yes, absolutely. As more jurisdictions establish credible frameworks, the opportunity for cross-border collaboration grows significantly. The most natural areas are payments, remittances, tokenized real-world assets, compliance technology, and shared standards for licensing and supervision. Regions like Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have many of the same structural drivers: young populations, growing mobile-first finance, large remittance corridors, and a strong need for more efficient capital and payment infrastructure. As frameworks mature, I expect we will see more regulatory dialogue, more institutional partnerships, and more private-sector collaboration across these regions. Clear rules are what make those bridges possible.
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