PVARA NOC Virtual Assets Act 2026: Key Legal Insights

Lex Legal Practice advised a leading digital asset platform and cryptocurrency wallet provider on obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA) for the provision of Virtual Asset Services in Pakistan. The engagement was conducted under the newly enacted Virtual Assets Act 2026, which has placed Pakistan's virtual assets regime on a permanent statutory footing.

The mandate covered the regulatory characterisation of the client's platform and wallet propositions against the categories of Virtual Asset Services under the Act, the structuring and preparation of the NOC application, and the assembly and legalisation of the supporting corporate, governance, and compliance documentation required by PVARA.

Custodial and non-custodial wallet functionality raises distinct licensing questions under the Act, turning on whether the provider safekeeps or controls virtual assets, or the means of access to them, on behalf of customers, and the firm's advice addressed the perimeter treatment of each wallet model alongside the platform's trading functionality.

The engagement is among the firm's growing portfolio of NOC-stage mandates ahead of PVARA's application deadline, acting for global exchanges, stablecoin payment companies, wallet providers, and Web3 platforms entering the Pakistani market.