A frozen bank account after a peer-to-peer crypto trade is one of the most common problems Pakistani crypto users report. This guide explains how it happens and the steps people take, using Crypto Awaz's help article as the main source.
Disclosure: Crypto Awaz, which publishes the help articles this piece draws on, is a community partner of Fintech Pakistan. We have rewritten the explanation in our own words and say where each point comes from. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
How a chain dispute works
Crypto Awaz calls it a "bank chain dispute". The person who paid tells their bank the payment was unauthorised, or that their account was compromised. The bank holds the payment and may block the accounts that received it or passed it on.
Its example: User A pays a merchant. The merchant pays Users B and C. When User A disputes the payment, the accounts of the merchant, B and C can all be blocked. A high feedback score on a P2P platform does not protect you. Crypto Awaz also says some scammers buy verified accounts to start the cycle. It gives a price for those accounts but no source, so we leave the figure out.
Reducing the risk
These are the precautions the article lists, with our comments.
Keep trading money apart from the account you rely on. Crypto Awaz suggests an e-money account rather than your main bank account, and not sending money from one to the other.
Accept payments only from the buyer's own verified name, and keep the order number, chat and receipts.
Avoid trading with strangers where you can. Direct sale routes that do not use P2P avoid this particular risk, though they have their own fees and delays.
The article also recommends its own escrow service and some cards with referral links. We have not tested them and do not endorse them here.
If your account is blocked
The steps below follow the article's list, in a sensible order.
Report it to the platform. Appeal on the P2P platform and report the merchant.
Go to the branch and ask why. Ask the bank to unblock the account and to hold only the disputed amount, not everything.
Ask for the reason in writing, including details of the person who raised the dispute, because the platform will want them. If the bank refuses, Crypto Awaz points to the State Bank's Sunwai complaint portal.
File a complaint with PVARA. The article points to PVARA's grievance portal through the regulator's website.
Be accurate with your bank. The article notes that some users gave a different reason for the payment and says people disagree on what to tell the bank. We do not recommend giving anyone, least of all a bank, an account of a transaction that is not true. Get legal advice before you respond.
Crypto Awaz also describes a written statement from the merchant, sworn on stamp paper, that some people use to ask for an account to be reopened. It says the approach has worked for some. We cannot verify that, and the article is inconsistent about who must sign it, so ask a lawyer before relying on it.
If you get an FIA or NCCIA notice
Crypto Awaz reports that since May 2024 crypto-linked cyber-crime cases sit with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which took over from the FIA Cyber Crime Wing. Its advice on a notice is to contact the investigating officer named in it, and to take a qualified lawyer with you or send one. It says two things seem to lead to notices: receiving money from an account flagged for money laundering, and a chain-dispute block. It stresses that nobody knows exactly what triggers one.
What the State Bank has said
Crypto Awaz says a State Bank circular letter of 14 April 2026 lets banks open accounts for licensed crypto firms and holders of an NOC, and tells banks to report suspicious transactions to the Financial Monitoring Unit. It adds that the letter does not protect an individual's personal account. We could not open the circular to confirm it. Our guide to whether crypto is legal for individuals puts this in context.
What we could not confirm
How often chain disputes lead to account closure rather than a temporary hold.
Whether the stamp-paper statement works in practice.
The exact wording and scope of the State Bank circular.