Pakistan is advancing its digital-asset strategy by signing a memorandum of understanding with Binance to explore tokenizing up to $2 billion in state-owned assets. The country has also granted preliminary regulatory clearances to Binance and HTX through its Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. These steps mark a significant push to integrate blockchain into sovereign finance.
Pakistan's finance ministry has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Binance to assess the tokenization of sovereign bonds, treasury bills, and commodity reserves, including oil, gas, and metals. This initiative aims to boost liquidity and expand market reach by creating digital representations of real-world assets on blockchain networks. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb described the agreement as a signal of the country's reform trajectory and a step toward a “long-term partnership” to draw global participation into Pakistan's debt and commodity markets.
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao highlighted the MoU as an important marker for both Pakistan and the broader blockchain sector, paving the way for deeper experimentation with digital asset infrastructure at the sovereign level.
In parallel, the newly formed Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) issued No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to Binance and HTX following a multi-agency review of their governance, compliance, and risk-management systems. These NOCs enable the exchanges to register with the Financial Monitoring Unit’s goAML platform, incorporate locally, and prepare full license applications as Pakistan finalizes its virtual-asset framework. PVARA stressed that the clearances are not operating licenses but the initial phase in a FATF-aligned authorization process. Chair Bilal bin Saqib emphasized that “strong governance, AML and CFT compliance remain central” in building a trusted digital-asset ecosystem, with compliance rigor determining advancement.
These developments form part of a rapid digital-finance overhaul, including the establishment of PVARA and the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), drafting of licensing and taxation rules, and plans for a central bank digital currency pilot in 2025. Pakistan has also signed a letter of intent with World Liberty Financial to explore stablecoin infrastructure and tokenized financial rails.
At the Bitcoin MENA conference, Saqib, minister of state for digital assets, argued that bitcoin serves as a practical tool for Pakistan's 240 million people, over 100 million of whom are unbanked. With the rupee losing more than half its value in five years, he noted that bitcoin offers relief as a hedge against inflation and enables frictionless global payments for workers, positioning it as essential infrastructure for the Global South amid a young population where 70% are under 30.
