Binance, Other Non-Regulated Exchanges To Exit Philippines After Getting Banned

Binance will be facing a ban on its Philippine operations starting in February 2024.

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarified that the ban will be effective three months from the issuance date (Nov. 29, 2023) of the advisory, as reported by Crypto News Philippines.

The exchange is unregistered, Philippine regulators say.

During a panel discussion titled “Empowering Consumers: Understanding the SEC’s Directive on Unregulated Exchanges,” SEC commissioner Kelvin Lee said that "we should feel lucky with the three months."

"I’ll be blunt, the original recommendation on my desk was one month. Someone even mentioned one week as a transition period. So the three months was actually a Christmas thing so as not to traverse Christmas and not to make hard for Filipino investors during that time,” Lee said.

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

Why It Matters: The SEC has its own set of requirements or prerequisites before selling or offering securities and investment products to the public. They include registration with the SEC, issuer credentials, and a secondary license.

The SEC Commissioner indicated a shift from public consultation to a select group of experts reviewing and providing feedback on the crypto regulations’ framework.

He also highlighted the importance of investing in registered entities, and promoting consumer protection, and urged collaboration with the growing number of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in the country.

The regulatory developments are moving towards an effort to educate and safeguard Filipino investors in the rapidly changing crypto landscape. The Philippines will also ban the other unregulated exchanges in the country, OctaFX and MiTrade.

The SEC said that it has a long list of unregistered exchanges to target but is undertaking a “wait-and-see” approach if they will register.

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