2 min read
Pakistan has introduced its most comprehensive regulatory framework to date for the country’s digital asset industry under the newly drafted Virtual Asset Service Provider Governance and Operations Regulations 2025. The proposed rules mark a decisive shift toward a tightly supervised crypto ecosystem, bringing Pakistan in line with global anti money laundering and counter terror financing standards.
Under the draft, all licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) will be required to collect, verify, and maintain detailed identifying information for both the originator and recipient of any crypto transfer above Rs 1 million. Regulators will have the authority to request this data at any time, significantly strengthening traceability and oversight across digital transactions.
The framework mandates full adherence to the Financial Action Task Force Travel Rule and places a broad array of crypto related activities under regulatory supervision. These include brokerage, custody, exchange platforms, lending services, derivatives trading, token issuance, asset management, and settlement operations. To curb market manipulation and illicit activity, firms must deploy blockchain analytics, real time monitoring, and controls designed to detect system abuse or coordinated attacks. Governance standards have also been tightened, requiring transparency around ownership structures, beneficial controllers, and board qualifications.
Financial resilience and cybersecurity lie at the center of the reforms. VASPs must maintain minimum paid up capital for each licensed service category and deposit 30 percent of that amount as security with the State Bank. Cross border outsourcing will be permitted only if it does not restrict supervisory access. Cybersecurity obligations will be among the most stringent in the region, requiring firms to implement an Authority approved policy governing access control, smart contract audits, monitoring systems, incident response procedures, and ongoing security testing.
If implemented, the 2025 framework would lay the foundation for a more transparent, regulated, and secure digital asset market in Pakistan, signaling a major pivot from a previously fragmented environment toward a structured, compliance driven regime.
