PVARA takes tokenisation talks to the World Bank as 75 firms apply to operate in Pakistan
Chairman Bilal bin Saqib met World Bank Group and IFC officials in Bangkok and said the virtual asset regulator has received 75 applications from domestic and international firms.
The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, PVARA, has taken its plans for tokenised bonds and AI supervision to the World Bank Group, and says 75 domestic and international firms have now applied to operate in Pakistan's virtual asset sector.
PVARA chairman Bilal bin Saqib, who is also Minister of State, held the meetings on the sidelines of the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok. In a statement issued on Monday 12 October, PVARA said he discussed cooperation with Jorge Familiar, the World Bank Group's Vice President and Treasurer, on digital bond issuance, asset tokenisation and AI enabled financial operations. The talks also covered knowledge sharing, capacity building and the use of financial technology in capital markets.
Meetings in Bangkok
Bin Saqib also met Imad N. Fakhoury, the International Finance Corporation's regional vice president for the Middle East and Central Asia, about tokenised bonds and sukuk, digital financial infrastructure, cross border payments and private capital. Sessions with the World Bank's digital and AI team, led by Vice President Sangbu Kim, focused on AI in financial regulation and oversight of digital assets. A meeting with Controller Zinga Venner's team covered blockchain enabled transparency and AI powered supervision.
He also joined an investor roundtable hosted by Barclays with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad. Bin Saqib said Pakistan must move beyond adopting new financial technology and build the institutions around it.
From ban to framework
In a post on X, Bin Saqib said Pakistan had moved from a blanket ban on virtual assets to a regulatory framework in 15 months. He pointed to the Virtual Assets Act 2026, which lifted the State Bank's 2018 banking restrictions on the sector, and to licensing rules that are due within 170 days of the law's assent. PVARA also runs a regulatory sandbox for virtual asset products covering gold, property and remittances.
The 75 applications compare with 70 that Bin Saqib gave TechJuice after the 5 September deadline, by which firms already offering virtual asset services had to apply for a no objection certificate. That certificate is a first step under supervised entry, not a licence. The State Bank told banks in April that they may open accounts for licensed virtual asset firms.
Licensing is PVARA's next priority, and Bin Saqib expects economic benefits to begin showing in 2027. The finance ministry has separately been studying tokenised sovereign bonds and Naya Pakistan Certificates since May.
