Pakistan issues permits to Binance and HTX to develop cryptocurrency

The issuance of the NOCs is part of efforts to establish a regular regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers and was issued after consultation with government agencies and a formal review process.

The NOC states that Binance and HTX will be allowed to carry out initial development and advisory activities for crypto and digital currencies in Pakistan. The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority aims to promote innovation, market transparency and consumer protection.

On this occasion, Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the launch of the NOC framework is a testament to Pakistan’s commitment to financial discipline and responsible innovation, and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority is becoming the world’s first AI-powered regulatory authority.

The Finance Minister said that the authority has introduced an AI-powered evaluation system, document review and recruitment portal, AI has improved the monitoring capacity and Pakistan has become aligned with global regulatory standards.

Chairman Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority Bilal bin Saqib said that today marks the beginning of a new era for Pakistan’s digital asset ecosystem, the issuance of NOC is the first step towards a fully licensed and regulated environment.

Bilal bin Saqib said that only better governance and fully compliant global platforms will be able to reach the next stages of licensing, this excellent framework strengthens Pakistan’s alignment with FATF standards.

He said that to enter the Pakistani market, every company will have to meet high standards of transparency, governance and risk management, Pakistan is the third largest country in the world for crypto users with 30 to 40 million users where the annual digital asset trading volume is more than $ 300 billion.