Overview
- The State Bank of Pakistan issued a circular Tuesday that allows regulated lenders to open rupee accounts for crypto companies licensed by the new Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority.
- Banks must hold customer funds in segregated, non‑interest‑bearing Client Money Accounts that forbid cash deposits or withdrawals and cannot be pledged as collateral.
- Lenders must verify licences with PVARA, run enhanced due diligence and continuous monitoring, and report suspicious activity to the Financial Monitoring Unit.
- The rules revoke the 2018 restrictions on banking for crypto businesses but still bar banks from trading, investing in, or holding digital assets with their own or client funds.
- Pakistan is courting major players through a Binance tokenization MOU and talks on stablecoin payments with a World Liberty Financial affiliate, plus initial clearances for Binance and HTX, aiming to shift large peer‑to‑peer activity into regulated channels.