Binance's Regulatory Woes Escalate As This Country's Regulators Restrict Access

The Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated steps to restrict access to Binance.

The latest advisory follows recent legal developments involving the crypto exchange's former CEO, Changpeng Zhao.

The Philippine's SEC warned the public that Binance is not authorized to sell or offer securities in the Philippines.

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The Commission noted that Binance has been actively using social media campaigns to attract local investors for trading and investment activities on its platforms.

Binance is accessible through its website, Google GOOGL Play Store, and Apple GOOGL App Store.

The advisory highlighted that Binance claims to offer various financial instruments and investment products, including spot trading with leverage, futures contracts, option contracts, cryptocurrency savings accounts, staking services, and a platform for initial coin offerings.

While Binance's operators are registered brokers/dealers overseas, the Philippine SEC mandates specific requirements for selling or offering securities to the public.

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These include registration of the securities with the Philippine SEC, issuance by a registered corporation or licensed dealer in the Philippines, and possession of a secondary license to sell or offer securities to the public.

According to the Commission's database, Binance is not registered as a corporation in the Philippines and operates without the necessary license or authority under the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).

This lack of registration and authority pertains to selling securities, engaging in brokerage or dealing activities, or operating a securities exchange.

The SEC's advisory urges the public to exercise caution when investing in unregistered online investment platforms. It also warns that individuals acting as salesmen, brokers, dealers, agents, promoters, recruiters, influencers, endorsers, or enablers of Binance in the Philippines may face criminal liabilities.

Violations can result in penalties of up to five million pesos, or imprisonment of up to twenty-one years, or both.

This move by the Philippine SEC comes in the wake of Binance's former chief pleading guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws, further complicating the legal landscape for the cryptocurrency exchange.

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