Ghasfar Ali Mirza

Ghasfar advises virtual asset service providers, including exchanges and wallet providers, on the licensing route under the Virtual Assets Act 2026 and on structuring their operations to satisfy it. He advises on tokenization, including the structuring of real-world asset tokenization projects, an area of growing significance for Pakistan's real estate sector, and on whether a given token constitutes a security. In that assessment he applies the framework established by the US Supreme Court in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., examining a token by its features and economic substance rather than by its label. His work in this area reflects a central feature of the Pakistani regime: a virtual asset licence seldom stands alone. Products such as cross-border remittance and card-based merchant settlement also depend on payment processing arrangements and on the foreign exchange framework, and he advises on these regimes together so that the product operates lawfully from end to end.

Under the SECP's non-banking finance regime, he has taken clients from initial structure to licence for digital lending products under Investment Finance Services, including buy now, pay later, small-ticket consumer lending, SME lending and credit lines. The mandate covers policies, business plans, fit and proper requirements and regulatory correspondence. Under the SBP framework, he has worked on electronic money institution licensing and advises licensed EMIs.

For foreign groups establishing in Pakistan, the regulatory path is determined by the product and by what the business intends to bring to the market. A group building a complete ecosystem will ordinarily require several licences, and many begin with a mid-tier licence and expand as the business scales. He advises on that sequencing, structures the local presence, and supports the integrations and partnerships that follow with financial institutions, merchants and regulators. He also advises startups, from early stage to established, on structuring, funding rounds and acquisitions, supported by contract drafting and due diligence.

As his clients' businesses are predominantly technology-led, his practice extends to cyber crime, where he represents and defends founders and platforms, including in matters concerning source code and crypto-related fraud. He also handles intellectual property, from the registration and publication of trademarks and patents to objections and hearings before the Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan; real estate sales and rentals; and mergers and acquisitions, including acquisitions by startups.