Pakistan moved from a de facto banking freeze to a statutory licensing regime in 2026, and both layers are still visible at once. The Virtual Assets Act, 2026 — promulgated in March 2026, replacing the Virtual Assets Ordinance of July 2025 — established the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) as an independent federal regulator that licenses, supervises and regulates virtual assets and virtual asset service providers.
Holding and trading crypto is therefore lawful in principle and the state now has a framework for it; what is not yet true is that anyone is licensed under it. PVARA's own licensing page frames the requirements as applying "when full licensing becomes available" and gives firms that were operating on or before 5 March 2026 until 5 September 2026 to file a No Objection Certificate application or stop.
A perpetual on APT tracks price and does not confer ownership of the underlying — the same contract mechanics apply in every jurisdiction; what differs by country is legal status and funding rails.
7 venues open Aptos perps to traders in Pakistan.
ApeX
Aster
gTrade
Helix
Hyperliquid
LighterFour steps from sign-up to an open position.
15% flat Capital Gains Tax on cryptocurrency profits under Pakistan's Virtual Assets Ordinance 2025.
Trading APT from Pakistan: regulated.
For Aptos traders in Pakistan: Full identity verification is the statutory norm for any licensed provider.
Pakistan traders can fund Aptos positions using USDT P2P.
12 platforms serve Pakistan for Aptos trading, among them Aevo, ApeX and Aster.