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Google and Meta crypto ad rules don't list Pakistan

Google now accepts Dubai's crypto licence for exchange ads aimed at the UAE. Neither Google's nor Meta's crypto ad rules list Pakistan or PVARA, which has licensed no one. Here is what that means for the crypto promotions in your feed.

Ammar Khan

Ammar Khan

4 min read
A hand holds up a smartphone against blurred city lights at night.
Photo by Yosuke Ota on Unsplash

Key takeaways

  • From 21 October, Google lets licensed crypto exchanges advertise to people in the UAE, including firms licensed by Dubai's VARA.
  • Google's and Meta's crypto ad policies, read on 22 October, do not list Pakistan or PVARA among the markets or licences they accept.
  • Google says crypto exchange and wallet ads cannot target markets that are not on its list.
  • PVARA's rules require risk warnings in licensees' marketing and let PVARA order the removal of online material promoting unlicensed crypto services.

Google updated its cryptocurrency advertising policy this month for the United Arab Emirates. From 21 October, crypto exchanges and software wallets can advertise to people in the UAE if Google has certified them and they hold a licence from one of four UAE regulators, including Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

Pakistan has no such entry. As read on 22 October, Google's main crypto ad policy lists more than 40 countries where exchange and wallet ads are allowed, each tied to a named local licence. Pakistan is not among them, and the policy is blunt about markets that are missing: "If your targeted location is not on this list, the cryptocurrencies and related products mentioned above can't be advertised."

Meta, which runs Facebook and Instagram, takes a similar approach. Its policy requires prior written permission for ads for exchanges, crypto lending and trading wallets, and accepts a set of national licences when it grants it. Its list includes the UAE's regulators, including VARA, as well as Singapore, Japan, the UK and others. When we read it on 22 October, it did not mention Pakistan or PVARA.

Why Pakistan isn't on the lists

The simplest reason is that there is no Pakistani licence for the platforms to check. The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) notified its licensing rules on 21 August, and its licensing page named no licensee when we last checked on 21 October. The two exchanges known to hold no-objection certificates, Binance and HTX, are due to apply for licences around 21 November, as our licence tracker sets out. A no-objection certificate, PVARA's rules say, "does not constitute a Licence".

Google and Meta add countries as their regulators start licensing. Google's UAE change, effective this week, is one example. Whether Pakistan follows once PVARA issues licences is up to the platforms, and neither has said.

What the platforms do allow

Some crypto-related ads are allowed everywhere under Google's policy, including Pakistan:

  • Education and news, as long as the content does not offer investment advice, tips, odds, financial calculators or technical trend analysis.
  • Businesses that don't involve buying, holding or exchanging crypto.

Others are banned everywhere, whatever the licence. Google prohibits ads for initial coin offerings, DeFi trading protocols, crypto loans and token liquidity pools, and for sites that compare or rank brokers, including affiliate sites.

What Pakistan's own rules say

PVARA's Pakistan Virtual Asset Services Regulations, 2026 deal with marketing from the other side, through the firms themselves:

  • Marketing to Pakistanis brings a firm under PVARA. Regulation 1(4) treats an activity as carried on "in Pakistan" where it "targets, solicits, promotes to, or onboard persons in Pakistan, including through marketing".
  • Firms still awaiting a decision need approval to market. For businesses allowed to keep operating while their application is pending, regulation 5A(2) says that "if the applicant intends to conduct any marketing activity, it shall seek prior approval of the Authority."
  • Licensees' marketing must carry risk warnings. Regulation 28(4)(a) brings marketing and promotions "issued, approved, procured, facilitated or disseminated" by or for a licensee under its disclosure rules. Regulation 54(2) requires warnings that are "fair, clear and not misleading", covering volatility, liquidity, fraud and other risks.
  • Licensees must show their licence number. Regulation 54(1)(b) requires each licensee to publish its licence number and the services it is authorised for.
  • PVARA can order online promotion taken down. Regulation 54(4) requires licensees to comply with directions under section 61 of the Virtual Assets Act, "including any direction to remove, block, or facilitate the removal or blocking of online material that promotes, operates, or relates to an unlicensed Virtual Asset Service".

What this means for Pakistani users

  • Most crypto promotion you see isn't a platform-approved ad. Influencer videos, sponsored posts in groups, and referral links shared in chats don't go through Google's or Meta's crypto ad checks. Treat them as marketing, not vetting.
  • "Licensed" needs a number. When licences exist, a licensee must publish its licence number. Until then, no platform holds a PVARA licence, whatever an ad says.
  • Know what Google bans everywhere. Token pre-sales and coin offerings, crypto loans, DeFi trading protocols and liquidity pools cannot be advertised on Google in any country. If you see them promoted, it isn't through an approved Google ad. Our guide to reporting a crypto scam sets out where to go.

CryptoPakistan has no affiliate or referral arrangement with any exchange.

What we're watching

  • PVARA's first licences, and whether Google or Meta then add Pakistan to their lists.
  • Whether PVARA uses its power to have online promotion of unlicensed services removed.
  • Exchange marketing campaigns aimed at Pakistan before licences are issued.

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