Pakistan seeks World Bank support for digital bonds, asset tokenisation as 75 firms apply for virtual asset licences

Profit reported that Pakistan and the World Bank Group are discussing possible work on tokenisation and digital bonds, plus AI-based financial services, as the country shapes rules for virtual assets. Bilal bin Saqib, the Minister of State who chairs the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), met World Bank Group Vice President and Treasurer Jorge Familiar on the fringes of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok. A PVARA statement issued on Monday said talks focused on sharing knowledge, building institutional capacity and using fintech to deepen the capital market.

Separately, Bilal bin Saqib said on X on Sunday that Pakistan has shifted away from an outright prohibition on virtual assets and put a regulatory structure in place within 15 months. He pointed to the Virtual Assets Act 2026, the removal of the State Bank of Pakistan's 2018 curbs on banking activity linked to the sector, and licensing rules to be framed within 170 days of the law receiving assent. PVARA has received 75 applications from local and overseas companies hoping to enter the field, while a testing sandbox for gold, property and remittances has been opened to trial virtual asset products.

He added that licensing is the immediate focus, with possible economic gains foreseen for 2027. The talks with the World Bank sit alongside efforts to launch supervised digital financial products and trial emerging technologies in capital markets.