Pakistan Reopens Banking Access to Licensed Virtual-Asset Firms
Pakistan’s central bank replaced its 2018 prohibition and allowed regulated banks to open accounts for licensed virtual-asset service providers, creating a formal banking bridge for Bitcoin and other digital-asset businesses.
On April 14, the State Bank of Pakistan replaced its 2018 circular prohibiting regulated entities from dealing with virtual currencies. Following enactment of the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, the central bank authorized banks and other regulated entities to open accounts for firms licensed by the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority.
The new framework required banks to verify VASP licenses, perform risk-based due diligence, and maintain segregated client-money accounts where appropriate. At the same time, banks were not given a blanket right to speculate in digital assets with their own funds or customer deposits. The policy therefore opened banking access while retaining conventional prudential controls.
For Bitcoin, this was a distinct institutional-access event. Pakistan had already created the statutory regulator in March; April changed the ability of licensed Bitcoin-facing businesses to connect to the formal banking system. That new banking layer made the April action historically separate from the earlier law itself.