Philippines blocks foreign cryptocurrency exchanges

The Philippines is trying to discourage individuals from conducting business with unregistered or international cryptocurrency exchanges by releasing a warning with a tone that is very discouraging. The warning also adds that people should not do business with foreign cryptocurrency exchanges.

The Philippines is Attempting to Prevent Foreign Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The level of scrutiny placed on virtual currencies is going through the roof in the Philippines. The nation’s central bank has issued a warning to the general public, discouraging them from engaging in business with unregistered or foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. This comes after a series of contentious actions taken by state officials and local think tanks.

When considered in isolation, the statement does not seem to pose a threat; however, when considered in conjunction with other occurrences, it transforms a country with 112 million people into a volatile location for Bitcoin.

The Cautionary Note

On Thursday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued a warning to people, “strongly advising” them not to contact with unregistered or foreign-domiciled virtual asset service providers. This warning was given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) (VASPs).

The Bank made the observation that all transactions involving virtual assets are high-risk activity in and of themselves, and that when dealing with offshore platforms, there is an additional challenge in applying legal repercussions and consumer protection measures. After this, the general public will have access to 19 registered VASPs from which to conduct operations.

Because of an order from the BSP, the granting of new VASP licenses has been prohibited as of September 1, hence it is doubtful that the list will grow in the next three years. The BSP views the delicate balancing act that must be performed between fostering financial innovation and minimizing risk as being as follows:

Even Binance Is Compromised At This Point

Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, is attempting to obtain a governmental authorization and, if the BSP policy document is carefully considered, has fewer than two weeks to do it. This is perhaps the most fascinating facet of the situation, and it necessitates one of the cryptocurrencies that is being traded.

Binance’s Asia-Pacific CEO, Leon Foong, indicated that the company had already finished the required paperwork to secure the licenses, but that they are unable to release any additional information because it may be confidential.

The problem is that the Philippine Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has already warned the community not to invest in Binance, echoing the sentiments of an Infrawatch PH think tank that had traditionally campaigned for the exchange’s moratorium due to fears unlawful market research. The reason for this is because Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange.

In the same vein, the Philippines does not consider its relationship with the cryptocurrency industry to be particularly harsh or restrictive in any way. According to the written response that the BSP provided on Monday, there are a number of advantages associated with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Education about cryptocurrencies is something that is very strongly supported. Specifically, the BSP has declared that it does not intend to place any significant limitations on crypto investments or trading at this time. This is according to the statement made by the BSP. The regulatory body is looking for rules that are risk-based and proportional.

Despite this, the country continues to be a contender for becoming a desirable location for cryptocurrency. It is one of the world’s economies that is developing at one of the fastest rates, and with over 11.6 million people in the country having digital assets, it ranks 10th in terms of adoption.