Philippines Rules Out Binance Ban

Due to the absence of a regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies from the country’s central bank, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry has decided not to pursue a ban on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Because there are now no regulations in place in the Philippines that pertain to cryptocurrencies, a proposal to prevent the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance from operating in the nation may not get much support.

A lobbying group in the Philippines advocated for the restriction of Binance at the beginning of July. In response, the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) stated that there are no clear guidelines put down by the country’s central bank, Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as a dead-end.

Infrawatch PH, a local think tank, has requested that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) investigate Binance for the marketing of the company’s services and offerings, which the group claims was done without the proper authorization.

Binance had attempted to reach an accommodation with the various parties involved, reporting in a recent interview that it has plans to acquire virtual asset service provider and electronic money issuer licenses in the Philippines.

However, according to the DTI’s most recent contact with Infrawatch PH, the agency is powerless to implement any ruling that would prevent Binance from conducting business within the country. According to a report by Forkast, the department highlighted the absence of regulation for virtual assets as the reason for the existence of a gray area:

“Cryptocurrency and other forms of virtual assets are not consumer products, the Department of Trade and Industry has no jurisdiction to act on applications for sales and promotion permits to promote virtual assets per se in the absence of clear legislation on the matter.”

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According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the plan would be overseen by the country’s central bank, which, to this day, has not issued any official guidelines or regulations regarding the usage of cryptocurrencies or the selling of cryptocurrencies in the Philippines. This would encompass any businesses or service providers who engage in marketing or sales activities related to financial products.