Pilot Program Launch — Coming Soon

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has confirmed it will launch a pilot for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) later in 2025. This was announced by Governor Jameel Ahmad during the Reuters NEXT Asia summit.

Pakistan’s central bank aims to complete the pilot within the current fiscal year, which runs until June 2026.

The SBP has partnered with Soramitsu, a Japanese blockchain firm, to build the digital rupee platform. This project is noted as their largest to date—targeting 250 million people across a $400 billion economy.

Importantly, the system will support offline capability, enabling smartphone transactions even without internet access—a key feature for rural and connectivity-challenged areas.

To govern this, Pakistan enacted the Virtual Assets Ordinance, 2025, which established the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA)—an autonomous regulator to license and supervise virtual asset service providers.