Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman, Bilal Bin Saqib, clarified that the No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) granted to global cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and HTX are not a “blanket approval” but the “first step under a risk-mitigated, phased, supervised entry framework.”
#WATCH: “For the first time in Pakistan’s history, a regulated, transparent and globally compliant way has been opened for global exchanges,” says Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority chief Bilal bin Saqib, as NOCs are issued to Binance and Huobi. https://t.co/v7MXyDAGwB pic.twitter.com/XH23eFWUEO
— Arab News Pakistan (@arabnewspk) December 14, 2025
This move, which comes as Pakistan ranks among the world’s top three nations in crypto adoption with an estimated 30 to 40 million users, signals a dramatic shift from avoiding innovation to formally regulating it under a “Pakistan-first” approach.
The NOCs only allow the exchanges to register local subsidiaries, engage with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and prepare full license applications, while mandating registration on the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) system with direct linkages to the Financial Monitoring Unit. This framework aims to establish strict control over three key areas: money laundering and terrorism financing, transparency of ownership and fitness checks, and enforcing timelines for final licensing.
You May Like To Read: Disney Accuses Google of ‘Massive’ Copyright Infringement while Partnering with Openai
Saqib stressed that the goal is not to promote crypto but to regulate a pre-existing massive user base, create an enabling legal environment for the youth, attract global capital, and ultimately prepare Pakistan to be a builder, not just a consumer, in the financial technologies of the future.
