Pakistan’s virtual-asset regulator is urging continued dialogue with Islamic scholars over how digital assets should be treated under Shariah principles—following a religious ruling that declared certain crypto-based purchases impermissible. Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) chairman Bilal bin Saqib said his meeting with prominent scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani focused on blockchain technology, digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), along with the need to protect the public from fraud and financial harm.
While Saqib did not directly dispute the specific religious claim, he emphasized that different categories of digital assets should not be judged through a single framework. The comments land at a sensitive moment for Pakistan, where regulators are building a licensing regime for crypto, but religious views could meaningfully influence broader public acceptance.
Key takeaways
- PVARA chairman Bilal bin Saqib called for continued discussions with scholars after Mufti Taqi Usmani supported a ruling against crypto-funded purchases.
- Saqib argued that digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenized RWAs require separate technical and Shariah review rather than one blanket assessment.
- The religious controversy comes as Pakistan expands its regulated crypto sector after the Virtual Assets Act 2026 and new banking access rules.
- Pakistan’s regulator says public protection from fraud and exploitation remains central to its approach.
Religious ruling targets crypto-based purchases
According to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, Usmani and five other scholars signed an Islamic legal ruling issued by Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi. The reported decision said purchases made with crypto—including stablecoins such as USDT—are impermissible under the scholars’ interpretation of Islamic law.
Dawn reported that the ruling centers on the view that digital tokens do not qualify as recognized property or wealth. In other words, even when a token is used in a purchase transaction, the scholars argued that its status under Islamic legal reasoning does not meet the relevant criteria.
Saqib, in his remarks, did not directly challenge the ruling’s conclusions. Instead, he called for ongoing engagement among scholars, regulators, and industry participants, suggesting that distinctions across asset types—and their underlying functions—should be part of the evaluation process.
Why Saqib’s “different categories” stance matters
In a Saturday post on X, Saqib said his discussion covered blockchain technology and the spectrum of digital assets, including stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. He also pointed to an operational concern: ensuring Pakistanis are protected from fraud, exploitation, and other forms of financial harm.
Crucially, Saqib argued that the “different categories of digital assets” warrant “careful technical assessment alongside rigorous Shariah examination, rather than being viewed through a single lens.” That framing implies two practical points for Pakistan’s regulatory trajectory.
First, it signals that Pakistan’s regulators may be preparing for a segmented approach in which religious review and compliance efforts consider how particular tokens are structured and used—rather than treating all virtual assets as identical. Second, it highlights a likely tension between market building and public acceptability: a licensing framework can formally enable regulated services, but religious objections—especially those targeting consumer-facing behaviors like purchases—could still shape adoption.
Those sensitivities are amplified by Pakistan’s demographics. The article notes that about 231.7 million people, or 96.35% of the population, identified as Muslim in Pakistan’s 2023 census, citing the National Census Report 2023. When religious rulings become salient for everyday commerce, regulatory progress can face additional hurdles beyond enforcement and licensing mechanics.
Pakistan’s regulatory shift: from restrictions to licensing
The religious discussion is unfolding as Pakistan continues its pivot from years of restrictions toward a formally regulated virtual-asset industry. In April, the State Bank of Pakistan allowed banks to open accounts for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) licensed by PVARA. The move ended an eight-year restriction on regulated institutions dealing with crypto, according to earlier coverage by Cointelegraph.
That banking update followed the passage of Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Act 2026 in March, establishing PVARA as the statutory body responsible for licensing and oversight of virtual asset activities, again per earlier reporting from Cointelegraph.
For investors and businesses, this regulatory expansion increases the importance of how digital assets are categorized—not just legally, but culturally and religiously. A stable regulatory environment can reduce operational risk for compliant firms, yet consumer comfort with using certain tokens may still depend on religious rulings and interpretations.
Saqib’s comments appear aimed at keeping that bridge intact: fostering dialogue that could reduce friction and clarify how scholars and regulators view the role of different blockchain-based instruments.
What to watch next: dialogue outcomes and compliance implications
The immediate uncertainty is whether religious authorities will revisit their position if technical distinctions between token types—such as the difference between “stablecoins” and other digital assets, or the way tokenized RWAs function in transactions—are examined more thoroughly. Saqib’s stance suggests he expects those distinctions to matter.
Meanwhile, market participants should watch how PVARA structures licensing guidance and consumer protection efforts as Pakistan builds out its regulated sector. The regulator’s stated emphasis on preventing fraud and financial harm suggests compliance priorities may expand alongside licensing—potentially influencing what kinds of services become viable in practice.
For now, the key signal is that Pakistan’s crypto roadmap is not only a legal and banking story—it is also an interpretive question about how digital assets fit within Islamic legal reasoning. The next developments will likely hinge on whether continuing scholar-regulator engagement produces clearer, category-specific frameworks that both regulators and the public can follow.
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