Pakistan’s cryptocurrency market has entered a new phase after the country’s virtual-assets regulator told lawmakers that around 40 million Pakistanis hold crypto accounts. The figure puts Pakistan among the world’s most active crypto markets, but it should not automatically be read as 40 million unique, active investors. Other ownership estimates and international adoption rankings show a fast-growing market while highlighting how difficult it is to measure Pakistan’s true number of cryptocurrency users.
PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib told lawmakers on August 31, 2026, that around 40 million Pakistanis hold crypto accounts. • Chainalysis ranked Pakistan third globally in its 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind India and the United States. • Triple-A estimates that more than 9 million people in Pakistan own cryptocurrency, or about 4.1% of the population. • Pakistan enacted the Virtual Assets Act 2026, establishing the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or PVARA.
Why 40 million crypto users in Pakistan needs context
The 40 million figure is striking. But “accounts” and “people who own cryptocurrency” are not necessarily the same measure.
The 40 million figure was reported after PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib briefed a parliamentary committee. Pakistani media reports said he told lawmakers that around 40 million Pakistanis currently hold crypto accounts, many of which were opened before a formal regulatory framework was introduced.
The public statement does not provide a detailed methodology. An account can exist without being actively used, and one person may have more than one account or wallet. The figure should therefore not be presented as a verified count of 40 million unique active investors.
Triple-A provides a very different estimate. It says more than 9 million people in Pakistan own cryptocurrency, equivalent to about 4.1% of the population.
The figures may be capturing different things: registrations, users, wallets, ownership or transaction activity.
Pakistan ranks third in global crypto adoption
Chainalysis ranked Pakistan third in its 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind India and the United States. Pakistan moved up from ninth place in the 2024 edition.
The index is not a simple count of crypto accounts. It uses on-chain transaction activity across several categories and adjusts calculations for factors including population size and purchasing power.
Why are crypto users increasing in Pakistan?
Several factors may be contributing to Pakistan’s growing crypto adoption.Pakistan’s large, young and increasingly digital population has expanded participation in the digital economy.
Economic pressure is another factor. Inflation, currency depreciation and limited access to some international financial services can make dollar-linked digital assets attractive to some users, although cryptocurrencies remain highly volatile.Global awareness has also grown. Bitcoin, stablecoins and blockchain-based financial services are increasingly discussed by consumers, governments, banks and technology companies.
Pakistan’s move from restriction to regulation
Pakistan’s regulatory position has changed significantly in 2026.
The Virtual Assets Act 2026 established PVARA as the statutory authority responsible for licensing, regulating and supervising virtual-asset activities and service providers. The law aims to strengthen investor protection, transparency and market integrity while addressing money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit-finance risks.
The State Bank of Pakistan later issued instructions allowing regulated banks to open accounts for PVARA-licensed virtual-asset service providers, subject to strict compliance and anti-money-laundering requirements. Banks are not permitted to invest, trade or hold virtual assets using their own funds or customer deposits.
What does this mean for Pakistan’s economy?
A regulated market could help Pakistan attract blockchain companies, digital-asset investment and technology talent, while supporting compliant payment and remittance products. But the risks are significant: cryptocurrency markets are volatile, and unregulated platforms can expose consumers to fraud, hacking, money laundering and weak protection. Policymakers therefore face the challenge of encouraging innovation without creating channels for financial crime or uncontrolled capital flows.
What Pakistan’s crypto numbers really tell us
The most defensible conclusion is not that exactly 40 million Pakistanis are active crypto investors. Rather, the parliamentary disclosure indicates that authorities believe around 40 million crypto accounts are held by Pakistanis, while independent estimates of actual ownership are much lower.
Pakistan’s third-place ranking in the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index also provides strong evidence that cryptocurrency activity is significant by international standards. The bigger story is the transition from informal adoption to formal regulation. The government now has to build a system that protects consumers, monitors illicit finance, supports innovation and gives legitimate digital-asset businesses a clear path to operate
Pakistan’s crypto story is bigger than a 40 million figure. The latest disclosure points to a large existing user base, while independent ownership estimates show that the number of unique people actually holding cryptocurrency may be much smaller. What is clear is that Pakistan has become a major global crypto-adoption market, and its next challenge is turning that demand into a regulated, transparent and economically useful digital-asset ecosystem.
