The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry rejected a move to prohibit Binance, citing the central bank’s lack of regulatory stance on cryptocurrency.
A petition to prohibit the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance from operating in the Philippines likely failed due to the absence of cryptocurrency rules in the country.
After a lobbying organization requested the restriction of Binance in early July, the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) cited the absence of clear rules from the country’s central bank, Banko ng Pilipinas (BSP), as an impasse.
Local think tank Infrawatch PH had requested that the DTI investigate Binance for promoting its services and products without the required permissions.
Binance stated that it plans to obtain virtual asset service provider and e-money issuer licenses in the Philippines in an effort to appease the parties concerned.
According to their most recent letter with Infrawatch PH, DTI is unable to implement any judgment prohibiting Binance from operating in the nation. According to Forcast, the government cited a lack of regulation regarding virtual assets as the reason for the grey area:
“Cryptocurrency and other types of virtual assets are not consumer products; therefore, the Department of Commerce and Industry has no authority to act on requests for sales and promotion permits to market virtual assets per se in the lack of specific legislation on the subject.”
The DTI stated that the plan would be governed by the country’s central bank, which has not yet issued official guidelines or regulations for the usage or selling of cryptocurrencies in the Philippines. This would encompass any companies or service providers doing financial product-related sales or marketing operations.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
