NBX and Aprikos Venture have signed an agreement on crypto exchange Nayapaisa in Pakistan, and applied to regulator PVARA for approval – the first step in licensing. The exchange cannot serve customers until approval and licence are in place.
Photo: Jamil Rehman at the Pakistan Tech Summit during Oslo Innovation Week in October.
Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) and Norwegian firm Aprikos Venture have signed the joint venture agreement for Nayapaisa (Private) Limited, a crypto exchange the two companies plan to establish in Pakistan. The agreement follows the letter of intent NBX announced on 11 March 2026. The application for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Nayapaisa has been filed with the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), and will now be reviewed by the regulator. The NOC is the first step in PVARA's licensing process for virtual asset service providers.
Nayapaisa will not offer services to customers in Pakistan before PVARA has granted both the NOC and the licence that follows it. The plan is a crypto exchange for Pakistani customers, with deposits and withdrawals in Pakistani rupees through licensed Pakistani banks.
"Pakistanis already use digital assets at scale, mostly outside any platform licensed in Pakistan. Nayapaisa is applying to be a licensed alternative, with a local team in Pakistan," says Jamil Rehman, proposed chief executive of Nayapaisa and chairman of Aprikos Venture.
NBX and Aprikos Venture will own Nayapaisa 50/50 through Horizon Markets AS, a Norwegian holding company under incorporation. NBX contributes the exchange technology it has built and operates in Norway, along with the governance framework it follows as a regulated company there. Aprikos Venture leads the local corporate structure, the dialogue with PVARA and operations in Pakistan.
"It is great to see that the time, money and effort the NBX team has invested in developing our platform now opens new possibilities for the company and our owners in new markets. Pakistan is one of the most exciting markets outside Europe right now," says Stig Kjos-Mathisen, chief executive of Norwegian Block Exchange.
Jamil Rehman, chairman of Aprikos Venture, is proposed as chief executive of Nayapaisa, and a compliance officer has already been named. Before the company applies for the licence itself, it will also appoint a chief financial officer, a money laundering reporting officer and an information security officer. An internal auditor has been proposed. Stig Kjos-Mathisen, chief executive of NBX, is proposed as chairman of Nayapaisa.
Pakistan has 241 million inhabitants, according to the 2023 census from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Chainalysis ranked Pakistan third of 151 countries in its 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind India and the United States. Until PVARA was established, no licensing regime for crypto exchanges existed in Pakistan.
Sources: NBX, Aprikos Venture
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